Know the Etymology: 408
Place Name of the Day: Friday, 10 July 2015

Agaare

அகா₃ரே
Agārē

Agaarea

The depression where water collects

Agaara1	Agaaraya: house (Sinhala, Clough, Sorata); Agaara: house (Sanskrit, CDIAL 52); Aagaara: house (Pali, Prakrit, CDIAL 52); probable Dravidian origin suggested by CDIAL; Akam: inside, house (Tamil, DED 7); cognates found in 11 Dravidian languages
Agaara2	Agaaraya: dale or valley (Sinhala, Clough); A depression in the land in which water flows in wet weather (Sinhala, Codrington); “Usbima atara pihiti de'niya” (Sinhala, Sorata): Agala: ditch, trench (Sinhala, Clough); Agal, Aga'la: moat (Sinhala, Sorata); Agaru, Aga'lu: ditch, trench, moat (Tulu, DED 11); Akazh: moat, tank, reservoir (Tamil, DED 11); (verb) to excavate, dig out (Tamil, DED 11); Aval: a shallow place, a depression where water collects (Tamil Changkam diction, Ku'runthokai, 250: 1). See column on Agalawatta
Agaara3	a feeder of a tank (Sinhala, Codrington); place from where a tank gets water, “Wævata diya læbena prade'saya” (Sinhala, Sorata); etymology related to Agaara 2. See box above

The word Agaara has two sets of meanings in Sinhala, coming from two different morphemes.

One meaning for Agaara in Sinhala is a house. But this usage is very formal and it rarely comes in place names (see related place names below).

In meaning a house, Agaara is related to the same word in Sanskrit and to Aagaara in Pali/ Prakrit, meaning the same. A Comparative Dictionary of Indo-Aryan Languages traces the etymological probability to Dravidian, as Akam in Tamil means inside as well as a house (CDIAL 52, DED 7).

Another meaning for Agaara in Sinhala is a dale or depression in a land where water flows in wet weather. Related to this, the word also means a feeder of a tank or a locality from where a tank gets water.

It is in the second mentioned meaning (depression), Agaara is predominantly used in Sinhala place names. Such places are usually waterlogged areas turned into paddy fields.

In meaning a water-collecting depression, Agaara is related to another Sinhala word Agala meaning a ditch, trench or moat (see column on Agala-watta).

The closest cognates for the Sinhala words Agaara and Agala in the above shades of meaning are the Tulu/ Dravidian words Agaru and Aga'lu, meaning a ditch, trench or moat (DED 11). They are all related to Akazh in Tamil, which as a verb means to excavate and as a noun means a ditch, moat, tank or reservoir (DED 11). Another related word Aval in Changkam Tamil usage means a depression where water gets collected (Ku'runthokai 250: 1).

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Agaare is a place in Polpithigama division of Kurunegala district

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Some related place names:

Induraagaara: Induru-agaara; The depression or dale of Induru plants; Divulapitiya division, Gampaha district. Induru: Susum anthelminticum

We-wæl-agaara: The depression or dale of rattan cane; Gampaha division, Gampaha district

Kirimætiyaagaara: Kirimætiyaa-agaara: The depression found with white clay; Mahara division, Gampaha district

Aagara-patana: Agaara-patana: The grassland of the depression or dale; Nuwara Eliya division, Nuwara Eliya district

Aagara-wala: Agaara-wala: The forest of the depression; Devinuwara division, Matara district

Agaara-uda: The ground higher than the depression; Rasnayakapura division, Kurunegala district

Kos-heana-agaara: The depression or dale cleared for growing jack trees; Bingiriya division, Kurunegala district

Hora-gas-agaara: The depression or dale of Hora trees; Bingiriya division, Kurunegala district

Hævanællaagaaraya: Hæwanællaa+agaaraya, or Hævana+ælla+agaaraya: 1. The shady depression or dale; or the depression or dale of the shady canal/ stream; 2. The shelter trench; 3. The shelter house; Kuliyapitiya East division, Kurunegala district. Hewanælla: shadow, shade, shelter; from Hewana: shade, shelter (Sinhala)

Mahaa-agaara: The big depression; Udubaddawa division, Kurunegala district

Pol-gaha-agaara: The depression or dale of coconut palms; Udubaddawa division, Kurunegala district

Karavitaagaara: Karavita-agaara: The depression at Karavita; Chilaapam division, Puththa'lam district

Rathmal-agaara: The depression found with Ratmal shrubs; Madape division, Puththa'lam district

Ooraliyaagaara: Ooraliyaa-agaara: The depression or water-collecting place from which water goes to Ooraliya, a nearby place; Madampe division, Puththa'lam district

Mællavaagaara: Mællava-agaara: The depression found with Mælla trees; Madampe division, Puththa'lam district

Yataagarea: Yataa-agaarea: The depression at the bottom; Kahawatta division, Ratnapura district

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Agaara meaning house or structure:

Devinuwara Pradeepaagaara Pedesa: The lighthouse locality of Devinuwara; Devinuwara division, Matara district. This is a formal and new place name; Pradeepaya: a shining light; Agaara: house (Sinhala)

First published: Friday, 10 July 2015, 07:41