Know the Etymology: 417
Place Name of the Day: Tuesday, 01 September 2015

Gal-gediyaawa, Gedi-gas-walaana

க₃ல் கெ₃டி₃யாவ,
கெ₃டி₃க₃ஸ் வலான
Galgeḍiyāva, Geḍigasvalāna

Gal+gediyaawa
Gedi+gas+walaana

The place of the stone rampart/ enclosure; or the place for cut-stones ready for the mason

The forest of fruit trees

Gediya1	from Gedi: enclosure, fence, rampart, walled enclosure; Pahara (Sinhala, Sorata); Gedi-bæta: Pahara (Sinhala, Sorata, probably from Gedi-wæta); Gedige: walled house (Sinhala, Sorata); ornamental wall surrounding a well (Sinhala, Clough); Gedi-yathura: padlock (Sinhala); Kadi: protection, safeguard, defence (Tamil, DED 1127); bolt, sliding catch (Tamil, DED 1130); Kadi-manai: palace protected by high walls (Tamil, Pu'ra:naanoo'ru, 36: 10); Kadi-pulam: protected place of an enemy king (Tamil, Aka:naanoo'ru, 101: 10); Kadi-mi'lai: the protecting forest around a fort (Tamil, Aka:naanoo'ru, 216: 10); Kadi-maram: the protected royal totem tree (Tamil, Pu'ra:naanoo'ru, 23: 9); Kadikai: shield (Tamil, DED 1127); Kadikai-nool: a thread tied as protection (Tamil, Nedunalvaadai, 142); Kadikaith-thaava'lam: a protected trade centre, probably a walled market place (Tamil, inscriptions, 1050 CE, AVNM, 2, p. 6-8)
Gediya2	lump or block, as in Gal-gediya: stone cut ready for the mason (Sinhala, Clough); Gedi: lump, tumour or boil that appears in body (Sinhala); Kaddi: clod, lump, concretion, anything hardened, boil, abscess, tumour (Tamil, DED 1148); Cheng-kaddi: a block of red brick (Tamil)
Gediya3	fruit (Sinhala); Gedi: = Gutiya: lump, ball, sphere (Sinhala, Sorata); Gotta: something round in the sense of fruit or kernel (Sanskrit, CDIAL 4271, etymology traced to Dravidian); Koddai: seed, nut, kernel (Tamil, DED 2069); Gotaa: seed of fruit (Kurux, DED 2069); Gota: a seed or berry (Malto, DED 2069)
Gal	stone, rock (Sinhala, Clough); hill, mountain, gemstone (Sinhala, Sorata); Kal: stone, pebble, boulder, rock, precious stone, hill, mountain (Tamil, Changkam diction, DED 1298), See earlier columns.
Walaana	from Walaan: forest, grove (Sinhala); related to Wala: forest (Sinhala); Vallai: extensive thicket, big forest (Tamil, DED 5289). See earlier columns.
Gas	tree in general (Sinhala); Gaksha: tree (Sanskrit, CDIAL 3949). See earlier columns.

The word Gediya/ Gedi has many meanings in Sinhala.

In one of its shades, Gedi means enclosure, fence, rampart or walled enclosure and it is used in this meaning in phrases like Gedi-bæta, Gedi-ge etc. (Sorata). Naalanda Gedige, which is a walled temple at Naalanda in Matale district, is an example.

Protection is the basic meaning in this usage. Another Sinhala phrase Gedi-yathura, literally meaning 'protecting device', stands for a padlock.

In such a meaning Gedi/ Gediya in Sinhala corresponds to Kadi in Tamil/ Dravidian, meaning protection, safeguard or defence (DED 1127) and also meaning a lock (DED 1130).

Kadi as a special verb (Urich-chol) has several shades of meaning in Tamil (Tholkaappiyam lists ten meanings). The word in all these meanings, including the meaning 'protection', is listed as Dravidian.

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Kadi-manai as palace protected by high walls, comparable to Gedi-ge in Sinhala:

“Nedu mathil varaippil kadi manai” (Pu'ra:naanoo'ru, 36:10)

“நெடு மதில் வரைப்பில் கடி மனை” (புறநானூறு, 36:10)

The protected residence (palace) surrounded by high walls


Kadikai-nool as the thread worn on hand for protection:

“Valampuri va'laiyodu kadikai nool yaaththu” (Nedunalvaadai 142)

“வலம்புரி வளையொடு கடிகை நூல் யாத்து” (நெடுநல்வாடை 142)

Tied the protecting thread along with the bangle made of the right-curled conch


Kadikaith-thaava'lam as a walled or protected trade centre:

“Kadikaith thaava'lamum thaava'laththirunthu samaiyath thanmai inithu nadaathirukkin'ra cheddiyum..” (Tamil inscription, 1050 CE, AVNM 2, p. 6-8)

“கடிகைத் தாவளமும் தாவளத்திருந்து சமையத் தன்மை இனிது நடாதிருக்கின்ற செட்டியும்..” (Tamil inscription, 1050 CE, AVNM 2, p. 6-8)

The protected trade centre and the (merchant guild members) Cheddi (etc.) who stay in the trade centre and smoothly run the affairs according to the code of conduct of the guild.

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In another shade of meaning Gedi/ Gediya in Sinhala means a lump or block. A phrase Gal-gediya could also mean a block of stone cut ready for the mason (Clough).

In meaning lump or block, Gedi in Sinhala is a cognate of Kaddi in Tamil/ Dravidian meaning the same (DED 1148). A phrase Cheng-kaddi in Tamil means a block of red brick.

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In yet another meaning Gedi in Sinhala generally stands for the fruit of any tree. The word is also equated to Gutiya in Sinhala, meaning lump, ball or sphere (Sorata). The Sanskrit cognate Gotaa, meaning something round in the sense of a fruit or kernel, is etymologically traced to Dravidian (CDIAL 4271). Koddai in Tamil and other Dravidian cognates Gota in Malto, Gotaa in Kurux etc., mean seed, seed of fruit or berry (DED 2069).

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Gal-gediyaawa is a place in Udapalatha division of Kandy district

Gedi-gas-walaana is in Dambulla division, Matale district

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Some related place names:

Gediyaa-rodaa: The rampart line or the piece of broken rampart; Bandarawela division, Badulla district. Roda: row (Sinhala, Sorata); Kædeegiya kæbælla (Sinhala, Sorata)

Kalagedi-heana: probably, Ka'lagedi-heana: The water-pot cultivation field; Attanagala division, Gampaha district. Ka'lagediya: water-pot (Sinhala). Gediya in this context means pot; Ghata: pot (Sanskrit, Pali, CDIAL 4406); Ghada: pot (Prakrit, CDIAL 4406); Kudam: water-pot (Tamil, DED 1651); Kutuvai: vessel with a small narrow mouth (Tamil, DED 1651); Kutukkai: coconut shell or other hard shell used as vessel, pitcher (Tamil, DED 1651); Gudke: small vessel (Tulu, DED 1651)

First published: Tuesday, 01 September 2015, 08:48