Know the Etymology: 382
Place Name of the Day: Thursday, 11 December 2014

Koomak-ku'lam, Kooman-ku'lam, Baka-moo'na

கூமக்குளம், கூமன்குளம், ப₃கமூண
Kūmak-kuḷam, Kūmaṉ-kuḷam, Bakamūṇa

Koomak+ku'lam
Kooman+ku'lam
Baka+moo'na

The tank of Koomaa trees; or the tank of owls

The (place of) owls

Koomaa	also Koovamaa: a tree (Tamil, Jaffna Dictionary, Winslow, Kathiraiverpillai, MTL citing Jaffna Dictionary); Koomarai: a tree, also called Kaaddilavu or Koangilavu, a variety of silk cotton tree, False tragacanth, Cochlospermum gossypium (Tamil, MTL); Koangkam: Cochlospermum gossypium (Tamil, Changkam diction, Aingku'runoo'ru, 366); Koka: also called Kini-hiriya, Ela-imbul, Cochlospermum gossypium (Sinhala)
Kooman 1	Probably from Koomaa. See box above. The addition of 'An' suffix is common in Eezham Tamil
Kooman 2	owl (Malayalam, DED 1871); Koon, Kookai: owl (Tamil, DED 1871); Gumn: owl (Kota, DED 1871); Googe, Gumma: owl (Kannada, DED 1871); Googe, Gumme: owl (Tulu, DED 1871); Gooba: owl (Telugu, DED 1871); Ghooka: owl (Sanskrit, CDIAL 4494, etymology traced to Dravidian); probably from the sound, Koo: cooing, crowing, howl, calling aloud, crying aloud etc. (DED 1868, CDIAL 3390)
Bakamoo'na	also Bakamoonaa, Bakamuhunaa, Bakamuhu'nu, Bakusu, Bassaa: owl (Sinhala; Clough, Sorata); from Baka: big (Sinhala); Bakkaa: big man or animal (Sinhala); Bakkan: large, plump, clumsy (Sinhala); Bhakka: lump (Sanskrit, CDIAL 9330); Pa'nai, Paru: big, plump, bulky (Tamil, DED 3894); Moo'na: also Moona, Muhuna, Muhunu: face, countenance (Sinhala); Moo'nu: face (Dhivehi/ Maldivian); 1. Mun: in front (Tamil, DED 5020); Munai: front, face, appearance (Tamil, DED 5020); Munnu: that which is before, in front of (Kannada, DED 5020); Munnam: facial expression (Tamil, Changkam diction, Akanaanoo'ru, 5: 19; Pu'ranaanoo'ru, 3: 25); Munu-kut: to bow head (Kuwi, DED 5020); cognates in 17 Dravidian languages including Brahui of Pakistan; 2. Moognchi: face (Tamil, DED 5031); Mun: face, front (Toda, DED 5031); Moa'ne: face, countenance (Tulu, DED 5031)
Ku'lam	tank, reservoir, lake, (Tamil, DED 1828). See earlier columns for etymological discussions.

Koomaa is noted as the name of a tree in the Jaffna Dictionary compiled in early 19th century. Koovamaa is mentioned as the alternative term for the tree.

The dictionaries of Winslow and Kathiraiverpillai, compiled in Jaffna, also refer to Koomaa as the name of a tree and the Madras Tamil Lexicon entry cites Jaffna Dictionary as the source. But none of the dictionaries botanically identify the tree.

There is a probability that the tree Koomarai or Koangku, a yellow-flowering tree related to silk cotton (Cochlospermum gossypium) could be the one called Koomaa. One of the names for Cochlospermum gossypium in Sinhala is Koka.

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Kooman means owl in Malayalam and the word is a cognate of Kookai or Koon in Tamil/ Dravidian, meaning the same (DED 1871). The terms are probably onomatopoeia, coming from the hoot of owls and are related to the root Koo (DED 1868, CDIAL 3390).

Both the forms Koomaa and Kooman are found in the Eezham Tamil place names. Probably Koomaa has taken the 'An' suffix (which is often noticed in Eezham Tamil) to mean the tree, or Koomaa and Kooman are different, the former meaning the tree and the latter meaning owl.

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Baka-moo'na is the term for owl in Sinhala and it is noticed in one of the Sinhala place names.

Baka-moo'na literally means 'the big-faced' or 'the clumsy-faced'.

While the prefix of the Sinhala phrase has affinities to Indo-Aryan, the suffix is Dravidian.

The closest parallel for Moo'na in Sinhala, meaning face or countenance, is the Tulu word Moa'ne, meaning the same. The words are cognates of Mun in Tamil/ Dravidian (DED 5020) meaning front, Munnam in old Tamil meaning facial expression (Changkam diction) and Moognchai in Tamil/ Dravidian meaning face (DED 5031).

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Koomak-ku'lam is a place in Musali division of Mannaar district.

Kooman-kulam is in Vavuniyaa division of Vavuniyaa district.

Baka-moo'na is a place in Elahera division of Polonnaruwa district.

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Some related place names:

Periya Koomak-ku'lam: The big tank in the area of Koomaa trees; Or the big part of the village named the tank of Koomaa trees; Musali division, Mannaar district

Chinna Koomak-ku'lam: The small tank in the area of Koomaa trees; Or the small part of the village named the tank of Koomaa trees; Musali division, Mannaar district

First published: Thursday, 11 December 2014, 21:14