Know the Etymology: 378
Place Name of the Day: Friday, 14 November 2014

Arup-passa

அருப்பஸ்ஸ
Aruppassa

Aru+passa

The ascending side, quarter or neighbourhood

Aru 1	ascending, rising (Sinhala, Sorata); Ea’ru: (verb) to rise, ascend, mount, climb, increase (adjective) rising, ascending (Tamil, DED 916); (verb) to rise, increase, ascend, mount, climb; (noun) rising etc., rising ground (Kannada, DED 916); cognates in 15 Dravidian languages; Erung, Eri: verb forms related to ascend, rise etc. (Dhivehi/ Maldivian); Eriya: (adjective) climbed, ascended, risen (Dhivehi/ Maldivian); Aaroaha’na: ascending, arising (Sanskrit, CDIAL 1334); ascent (Pali, DED 1334)
Aru 2	nearness, Nodura (Sinhala, Sorata); Aruku: nearness (Tamil, DED 222);
Aru 3	distant, Dura (Sinhala, Sorata); A’ru: (verb) to be severed, to break off (Tamil, DED 315); Arv: distant (Badaga, DED 315): Aru 4: mould (Sinhala, Sorata); A’rai: room, cell, drawer, compartment (Tamil, 322); Aru 5: wound (Sinhala, Sorata); A’ru: to cut (Tamil, DED 315); Aru 6: The remaining part in reaping paddy (Sinhala, Sorata); Aru: to reap; Aruppu: harvest (Tamil, DED 315)
Passa	from Pas: side (Sinhala, Clough); Pasa: side, quarter, neighbourhood (Sinhala, CDIAL 8118); Passa: side (Pali, Prakrit, CDIAL 8118); Paarsva: nearness (Sanskrit, CDIAL 8118); Pasar: side (Kolomi, DED 3823); bank of river (Gondi, DED 3823); Pacar: side (Parji, DED 3823)

The word Aru in Sinhala derives from different morphemes and hence it is used in different shades of meanings.

Aru meaning ascending or rising is comparable to the verb Ea’ru in Tamil Dravidian (DED 916). The noun form of Ea’ru in Kannada, meaning rising and rising ground, is much closer to Sinhala usage. Cognates are found in 15 Dravidian languages and also note the Maldivian parallels in the box. Aru in Sinhala meaning mounting, as in mounting a vehicle etc., and Aaroaha’na in Sanskrit/ Indo Aryan meaning ascending (CDIAL 1334) are also etymologically comparable.

Aru meaning nearness in Sinhala is related to Aruku in Tamil/ Dravidian (DED 222); the word meaning distant, wound, stubble of reaped paddy etc. are related to A’ru/ A’ruppu in Tamil/ Dravidian (DED 315) and Aru meaning mould is related to A’rai in Tamil/ Dravidian (DED 322). See boxes.

Passa is the toponymic form of Pas/ Pasa in Sinhala meaning a side, quarter or neighbourhood. It is a cognate of Passa in Pali meaning side (CDIAL 8118) and probably related to Paarsva in Sanskrit/ Indo Aryan, meaning nearness. Dravidian languages Kolomi, Gondi and Parji also have a related word Pasar/ Pacar meaning side (DED 3823). The root Pa in both Indo Aryan and Dravidian is related to side or nearness.

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Arup-passa is a place in Attanagala division of Gampaha district. It is a settled mound amidst low ground paddy fields.

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Some related place names:

Aru:

Arup-pitiya: The ascending plain; Kaduwela division, Colombo district

Arug-goda: The ascending bank; Bandaragama division, Kalutara district

Arug-gammana: The ascending outskirts of the village; Galigamuwa division, Kegalle district

Passa:

Demata-passa: The side or quarter of Demata shrubs; Athuraliya division, Matara district

Wæ-passaa-wela: The paddy field in the side or quarter of rattan vines; Hali-Ela division, Badulla district

First published: Friday, 14 November 2014, 09:43