Know the Etymology: 446
Place Name of the Day: Friday, 29 January 2016

Karaa-midula

கராமிது₃ல
Karā-midula

Karaa+midula

The nearby place positioned in front

The nearby yard or house front

Midul1	(plural), Midula: (singular) facing, in front of, position in front of an object, “Sammukhaya, Idiriya”; the yard in front of a house, “Geaya idiriyeahi tibena sama bima kæbælla,” (Sinhala, Sorata); Mun: in front (Tamil, DED 5020a); Mundu: the front part or side, front, state of being in front of anything that is behind (Kannada, DED 5020a); Mundel: in front before (Parji, DED 5020a); the front (Gadba, DED 5020a); Muthal: first as in rank, place etc. (Tamil, DED 4950) See column on Munthal
Midul2	(plural), Midula: (singular) yard, courtyard of a house, compound (Sinhala, Clough); 1. Muththam: from Muttam: courtyard of a house, inner yard of a house, esplanade, open space, expanse (Tamil, DED 5016); front yard, court before a house (Malayalam, DED 5016); 2. Madilu, Madulu: roofed wall of a compound (Tulu, DED 4692, related to Mathil in Tamil)
Karaa	sea, seashore, “Muhuda, Muhudawerela”; near, close to, proximate, contiguous, “Weta, sameepaya” (Sinhala, Sorata); Karai: shore, bank, border, side, adjacent place (Tamil, DED 1293, Natti’nai, 81: 6; Pazhamozhi, 86); Karal: border, margin, edge (Malayalam, DED 1293); Karrak: bank, shore, brim, border, edging, near (Brahui, DED 1293). See column on Karaiyoor.

Midula is a seldom-found component in Sinhala place names. Midul is the plural form of the word

Sorata and Clough give slightly different meanings for the word Midula. Sorata bases on front position in giving the locational meaning even when it is a house yard, while Clough generally says that it means a yard, courtyard or compound.

In meaning front position, the closest cognate in word form is Muthal in Tamil/ Dravidian, meaning first as in rank, place etc. (DED 4950). However, in corresponding exact shade of meaning, the words are Mundu in Kannada, and Mundel in Parji and Gadba, related to the etymon Mun in Tamil/ Dravidian meaning, front (DED 5020a). See box on Midul 1.

In generally meaning yard, courtyard of a house and compound, Midula corresponds to Muththam in Tamil/ Dravidian, a spoken form of Muttam, meaning the same. Note that the meaning for the word in Malayalam tallies with a meaning Sorata gives to Midula, i.e., front yard of a house. Another etymological possibility is Midula corresponding to Madilu in Tulu meaning roofed wall of a compound, which in turn is related to Mathil in Tamil (DED 4692)

Karaa in Sinhala, meaning seashore, near, proximate etc., corresponds to Karai in Tamil/ Drvidian meaning the same (DED 1293). See box on Karaa and also column on Karaiyoor

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Karaa-midula is a place in Hanguranketha division of Nuwara Eliya district.

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First published: Friday, 29 January 2016, 17:51