Know the Etymology: 379
Place Name of the Day: Saturday, 22 November 2014

Kodduk-ki'na'ru, Kodduk-kal, Uppuk-koddu

கொட்டுக்கிணறு, கொட்டுக்கல், உப்புக்கொட்டு
Koṭṭuk-kiṇaṟu, Koṭṭuk-kal, Uppuk-koṭṭu

Koddu+ki'na'ru
Koddu+kal
Uppu+koddu

The well walled by hollow wood

The block rocks or the barn/ hut-like rock

The salt storing barn or hut

Ki'na'ru	well (Tamil, Malayalam, DED 1998); related to Kea'ni: small tank, well, ditch, trench (Tamil, DED 1998); source of groundwater, source of water hidden below surface (Tamil, Ma'nimeakalai); Ki'ndu: (verb) to dig up, to burrow in (Tamil, DED 1542)
Koddu 1	hollow trunk of a tree (Eezham Tamil): trunk of a palmyra palm (Eezham Tamil, MTL); Kotu: wood, canoe, which is usually dug out of a single trunk of a tree (Sinhala, Sorata); Kota: (plural) stump (Sinhala); Koddam: hollow piece of bamboo (Tamil, DED 2059); Kotta: bamboo tube (Kannda, DED 2059); Gottamu: tube, cylinder (Telugu, DED 2059); Koddan: mallet (Tamil, DED 2063, this could also have come from the verb Koddu meaning to pound); Kuttu: stem of a tree which remains after cutting it (Kannada, DED 1676); Kudai: anything hollow (Tamil, DED 1660): Koatara: hollow of a tree (Sanskrit, CDIAL 3496 traces Dravidian etymology); Koadu: tree (Tamil, Aingku'runoo'ru, 414); branch of a tree (Tamil, Ku'runthokai, 99: 4-5); anything stout, knot in a tree (Tamil, Puram, 164:1, 246: 11)
Koddu 2	stout, fat, solid; from Kozhu: fat (Tamil, DED 2146); Ku'ndu: ball (Tamil, DED 1695); small hill (Tamil, DED 1682); Koddai: round and solid (Tamil usage) seed (Tamil, DED 2069)
Koddu 3	shed, a small hut; variation of Koddam, Koddil (Koddu+il), Koddakai (Koddu+akam): shed, stall, hut (Tamil, DED 2058); Kottige: stall, barn, room (Kannada, DED 2058); Kota: cowshed (Gondi, DED 2058); cognates in 9 Dravidian languages; probably from a small, conical, thatched roof; Kotu: barn, granary (Sinhala, Sorata); Koddu: granary (Tamil, MTL); basket made of rattan (Tamil, DED 2060);
Koddukki'na'ru	a well walled with hollow palmyra trunks (Eezham Tamil, MTL); a shallow pit-well is sandy areas where a single, hollow, trunk of a tree make the wall of the well (Eezham Tamil, see image for example); U'raik-ki'naru: a well walled by terracotta rings placed one upon the other as U'rai (cover) for the sides. Such wells are commonly seen in archaeological sites (Tamil, Paddinappaalai, 176, DED 723)
Uppu	salt, alkali, saltiness (Tamil, DED 2674a); cognates in 13 Dravidian languages

The word Koddu, as a noun or adjective, is used in different senses of meaning in Tamil. It means a hollow trunk of a tree; it means a trunk or log of a palmyra palm; it means anything stout and it also means a hut.

Koddu in its hollow trunk meaning in Eezham Tamil corresponds to Koddam and Kudai in Tamil/ Dravidian (DED 2059, 1660), Kotara in Sanskrit/ Indo-Aryan, where the etymology is traced to Dravidian (CDIAL 3496) and Kotu in Sinhala for a dugout canoe.

Koddu meaning a log in Eezham Tamil corresponds to Koadu meaning tree in Tamil, Kuttu meaning stem in Kannada/ Dravidian (1676) and Kota meaning stump in Sinhala.

The stoutness or solidness meaning of Koddu is related to other Tamil/ Dravidian forms Kozhu (DED 2146), Ku'ndu (DED 1645) and Koddai (DED 2069)

In meaning a hut or barn, Koddu in Eezham Tamil is a cognate of Koddil, Koddam and Koddakai in Tamil/ Dravidian (DED 2058) and Kotu meaning a barn or granary in Sinhala.

Kodduk-ki'na'ru as a phrase in Eezham Tamil means a well walled by hollow tree-trunk or trunks. Such wells are usually shallow and are mostly found in sandy coastal tracts. The phrase is comparable to the usage Uraik-ki'naru found in Changkam literature, meaning a well walled by terracotta rings or bottomless jars placed one upon another. Such wells are commonly found in archaeological sites.

Ki'na'ru, meaning a well in Tamil/ Dravidian (DED 1998), is related to the verb Ki'ndu meaning to burrow (DED 1542) and to another Tamil word Kea'ni (DED 1998) meaning a constructed and walled pond or large well that is a source of underground water.

In the place name Kodduk-kal in the Eastern Province, Koddu obviously means either stout blocks, or a feature resembling a hut/ barn, as the place is found with conspicuous coastal rock blocks and one of them resembles a hut or barn. The place name is comparable to Kottuk-kal in Kollam, Kerala.

See earlier columns on the Tamil/ Dravidian etymology of Kal, meaning stone, rock, boulder, rocky hill etc.

In the place name Uppu-koddu in Batticaloa, the suffix means a hut-like barn or structure for storing salt. Such storage facilities, thatched by coconut or palmyra palm leaves are commonly found in the saltpans. A similar place name Panagkaddik-koddu (Panang-kaddi: palmyra jaggery) confirms the production or storage structure meaning of the word Koddu,

Uppu is a common Tamil/ Dravidian word meaning salt (DED 2674a)

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Well walled by hollow objects such as terracotta rings:

“U'raik-ki'nattup pu'ragn cheari” (Paddinappaalai, 176)

“உறைக்கிணற்றுப் புறஞ் சேரி” (பட்டினப்பாலை, 176)

The out-lying hamlet (of the port city of Kaavirippoom-paddinam) found with wrapped (terracotta-ring-walled) wells


Koddil meaning a hut:

“Ku'rugnchaaddu uru'laiyodu kalappai chaarththi nedugnchuvar pa'raintha pukai choozh koddil” (Perumpaa'naattuppadai, 188-189)

“குறுஞ்சாட்டு உருளையொடு கலப்பை சார்த்தி நெடுஞ்சுவர் பறைந்த புகை சூழ் கொட்டில்” (பெரும்பாணாற்றுப்படை, 188-189)

The smoky hut, the tall walls of which are worn out by keeping levelling rollers (an agricultural implement) and ploughs leaning against them

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Kodduk-ki'na'ru or Kodduk-ki'naththadi is a locality in Kalmunai of Ma'n'niththalai, in the Poonakari division of Ki'linochchi district. Also called Koddup-pa'nivu, the place is located in the coastal sand dunes.

A locality name Kodduk-ki'naru is associated with a Pi'l'laiyaar temple in Ariyaalai East in Jaffna district, which is a sand bar on the opposite coast of the Ma'n'niththalai sandbar noted above. The temple is known as Kodduk-ki'na'ru Pillaiyaar or Koddukk-kinattadip Pi'l'laiyaar.

More locality names Kodduk-ki'na'ru could be found in Kumizhamunai, in the Karaithu'raippattu division of Mullaiththeevu district, and Ki'laali in Pachchilaippa'l'li division of Ki'linochchi district. Both are coastal and sandy places.

Kodduk-kal is a coastal place of boulder rocks in Poththuvil division of Ampaa'rai district. One prominent rock here is shaped like a hut or barn. A place in Kollam district of Kerala, where a rock-cut shrine is scooped out of a boulder rock is also called Kodduk-kal.

Uppuk-koddu is a place in Koara'laippattu division of Batticaloa district

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Some related place names:

Koddu:

Koddoadai: Koddu-oadai: The pond walled by tree trunks; Vadamaradchi East division, Jaffna district

Karik-kodduk-ku'lam: The pond walled by dark tree trunks; or the tank of darkened tree trunks standing in it; Poonakari division, Ki'linochchi district

Kodduk-ku'lam: The pond walled by tree trunks; a locality near Kokkuvil in Batticaloa, Ma'nmunai North division, Batticaloa district (One Inch Sheet)

Kodduk-ki'na'ru-ku'lam: The tank in the locality of the tree-trunk-walled well; Welikanda, Batticaloa district (Vakaneri One Inch sheet)

Oomaichchiyaa-koddu-ve'li: The open land of the tree-trunk-walled well named after a dumb women; Karaithu'raippattu division, Mullaiththeevu district

Koddadi: The locality of a tree-trunk well; or from Koaddai-adi: the locality of the fort; Jaffna city, Jaffna district

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Koddu as barn or storage shed:

Panang-kaddik-koddu: The barn or storage shed to keep palmyra jaggery; Mannaar Town division, Mannaar district

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Ki'na'ru:

Ki'na'r'radi-pa'l'lam: The shallow area having a well; or the shallow area in the locality of the well; Ki'n'niyaa division, Trincomalee district

First published: Saturday, 22 November 2014, 15:21