Know the Etymology: 459
Place Name of the Day: Wednesday, 02 March 2016

Eli-bichchiya, Ka'nu-bichchiya, Thoara-bichchiya

எலி-பி₃ச்சிய, கணு-பி₃ச்சிய, தோர-பி₃ச்சிய
Elibicciya, Kaṇubicciya, Tōrabicciya

Eli+bichchiya
Ka'nu-bichchya
Thoara+bichchiya

The outside wall or embankment

The pillared or staked wall

The wall or embankment to separate; or the bank of Thoara shrubs

Bichchiya	= Biththiya, Bhiththiya: wall, embankment, a brick wall etc around a house, bank of a river, fence, a dividing structure, an area, (spoken Sinhala, Sorata); Bhitti: wall (Pali, Prakrit, CDIAL 9494); mat od split reeds, panel, partition, wall (Sanskrit, CDIAL 9494); traced to the root Bid, Bhid: to split (Sanskrit, CDIAL 9494)
Eli	also E'li: outside, “Pitata” (Sinhala. Sorata); Ve'li: outside, open space, plain (Tamil, DED 5498); related to E'li, Eli meaning light, open space or plain in Sinhala and to the roots El and Ve'l in Tamil (DED 5496a, 5498, 829). Also see column on Maa-eliya
Ka'nu	1.pillar, stone pillar, “Tæmba” (Sinhala, Sorata); 2. spike, stake, sharply pointed object like a dart, “Ula” (Sinhala Sorata); Ka'n, Ka'nu: joint in bamboo etc (Tamil, DED 1160); Ka'nai: arrow (Tamil, DED 1166); Ka'naiyam: post, club (Tamil, DED 1166); Ka'na: shaft, arrow, bamboo (Malayalam DED 1166); Kaazh: post, pillar, iron rod (Tamil, DED 1370); Kazhai: stem, shaft, bamboo (Tamil, DED 1370, note the Zh/ 'N change)
Thoara1	Cassia shrub of which there are several species (Sinhala); Takarai: Cassia tora (Tamil, DED 3003);
Thoara2	verb form of Theareemehi (Sinhala, Sorata); Thoara'nawaa: to separate, to choose and separate (Sinhala); Theri: (verb) to be perceived, ascertained, select, choose (Tamil, DED 3419); Thear: (verb) to know, understand, consider, seek (Tamil, DED 3419)

Bichchiya is a place name suffix found especially in the Kurunegala district.

Noting Bichchiya a spoken Sinhala word, Sorata's Sinhala dictionary equates it with Biththiya or Bhiththiya in Sinhala, primarily meaning a wall. A wall-like embankment, brick wall or fence etc around a house, riverbank, any dividing structure and an area in general are the other meanings (Sorata).

Bhitti means a wall in Pali/ Prakrit, corresponding to the word meaning a panel, partition, wall etc in Sanskrit. The root Bhid is related to splitting in Indo-Aryan (CDIAL 9494) and a comparable root in Dravidian is Piy, meaning to rip, tear or rend (Tamil, DED 4171).

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Eli/ E'li in Sinhala means light and open space, and it also means outside (Pitata: Sorata). The latter is the most appropriate meaning to the context of Eli-bichchiya.

Eli/ E'li, in all the above meanings in Sinhala, corresponds to the Tamil/ Dravidian root words, El, Ve'l and Ve'li (DED 829, 5496a, 5498). See box above and column on Maa-eliya.

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Ka'nu in Sinhala means a pillar or post, as well as a stake, spike or any pointed object like a dart. In the context of the place name, it may mean the stakes of a wall.

The cognates of Ka'nu in Tamil, Malayalam and other Dravidian languages, meaning shaft, post, arrow etc., are basically related to bamboo that was the natural source for post as well as arrow shaft. The root Ka'n stands for the joint in bamboo or cane (DED 1160). Another related term of 'N/ Zh interchange in Dravidian is Kaazh/ Kazhai, meaning bamboo, post, pillar, shaft and iron rod (DED 1370).

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The Sinhala word Thoara as a noun means the Cassia shrub. This meaning may be applied if Bichchiya in the context of the place name means a riverbank.

Thoara as a verb in Sinhala, meaning to separate, seems to be more appropriate if Bichchiya in the place name means a dividing embankment or wall.

In meaning to separate, Thoara is the verb form of Thearee in Sinhala related to ascertaining, choosing, selecting, singling out and separating. The Sinhala verb corresponds to the Tamil verbs Thear and Theri, meaning the same (DED 3419).

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Eli-bichchiya is a place in Pannala division of Kurunegala district.

Ka'nu-bichchiya is in Udubaddawa division of Kurunegala district.

Thoara-bichchiya is in Bingiriya division of Kurunegala district.

First published: Wednesday, 02 March 2016, 08:24