Know the Etymology: 461
Place Name of the Day: Tuesday, 08 March 2016

Hora-vinna, Eeri-minna, Ne'lu-vini

ஹொர-வின்ன, ஈரி-மின்ன, நெளுவினி
Hora-vinna, Īri-minna, Neḷuvini

Hora+vinna
Eeri+minna
Ne'lu+vini

The forest of Hora trees

The forest of Eeri trees

The forest of Ne'lu trees

Vinna	forest, thicket, grove, wood (Sinhala toponymic usage); seems to be related to Vini, Wen, Wenea, Vana: forest, thicket, grove, wood (Sinhala). See box on Vini for etymology.
Minna	1. variation of Vinna: forest, thicket, grove, wood (Sinhala toponymic usage); V > M change as in Vinnambuwaa/ Minnambuwaa (terms for midwife, Sinhala, Clough); see box on Vini for etymology of Vinna; see column on Maanaveriya; also note Indi-vinna and Indi-minna under related place names; 2. Min: collection, assemblage (Sinhala)
Vini	forest, thicket, “Vanaya, Læhæba” (Sinhala, Sorata); forest, wood (Sinhala Sorata); Wen: grove, forest (Sinhala, Clough); Wenea: forest, grove (Sinhala, Clough); Wene: forest (word noticed in Brahmi inscriptions of the island, IC, vol I, 469, but doubtful of its forest meaning); Vana: forest, wood, grove (Sinhala, noticed in Brahmi inscriptions of the island, IC, vol I, 650, probably used in the meaning of forest); single tree, forest, timber (Rig Vedic Sanskrit, CDIAL 11258); forest (Pali, CDIAL 11258); grove, forest (Tamil, usage after c. 5th century CE, Ma'nimeakalai, 3: 80-81); Wal: jungle, wood, thicket (Sinhala); Vallai: extensive thicket, big forest (Tamil, DED 5289); Val, Van: strong, hard (Tamil, DED 5276); Va'lar: (verb) to grow (Tamil, DED 5304); Va'l: fertility, abundance, greatness, largeness, strength (Tamil, DED 5304); Va'nmai: bounty, nature, fruitfulness, fertility, abundance, strength (Tamil, DED 5304); Va'lam, Va'lan: fertility, productiveness, luxuriance, abundance (Tamil, DED 5304). Note the changeability of L and N.
Hora	also Hora-gaha, Sora-gaha: a large timber tree, peculiar to the island, Dipterocarpus zeylanicus (Sinhala)
Eeri	also Eeriya: a forest tree of the nutmeg family, the timber of which is preferred in making packing chests, Myristica Iriya (Sinhala); probably related to the act of sawing, Eeri, Iri: (Sinhala); Eer: to split, Ari: to saw (Tamil)
Ne'lu	a small tree of the genus Strobilanthes, also a general term for the various species of Strobilanthes found abundantly in the jungles of the island (Sinhala and Eezham Tamil, especially Vanni usage); name probably from the bluish colour of the flowers;

Vinna and Minna coming as Sinhala place name suffixes don't find dictionary entries, but they seem to mean a forest or thicket, as the prefixes associated with them are usually the names of jungle trees (see the list of related place names).

Probably, the closest cognate of Vinna could be Vini, which is explained in Sinhala dictionaries as a forest, wood or thicket (Sorata, Clough). The form Vini is not noticed in Sinhala place names, but in some rare instances it comes in Eezham Tamil locality names.

Wen and Wenea, meaning a forest in Sinhala, are other cognates to cite.

About Vinna and Minna, the former is noticed in more instances and the latter could be a variation through V > M change. The variation Vinambuwa > Minnambuwa for midwife in Sinhala is an example to cite. Also note the two place names, Indi-vinna in Kurunegala district and Indi-minna in Gampaha district, both meaning wild date-palm thicket. However, Minna could also independently mean a forest as the root Min in Sinhala means collection or assemblage.

All the cognates, Vinna, Vini, Wen and Wenea could be traced to Vana meaning forest in Rig Vedic Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali (CDIAL 11258). The usage of the form Vanam in Tamil is seen from post-Changkam times only.

However, another term Vallai found in early Tamil (Wala in Sinhala), meaning forest and could be of possible etymological relations to Vana (through L/ N change) is listed as Dravidian (DED 5276). See box on Vini for the root verbs and nouns, such as Val, Van, Va'lar, Va'l and Va'n in Dravidian (DED 5276, 5304) being etymologically connected in forest-related word formations.

Hora, Eeri and Ne'lu are names of forest trees in Sinhala. Ne'lu is found used in Eezham Tamil also. See boxes on the terms above.

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Hora-vinna is a place name found in Katuwana division of Hambantota district.

Eeri-minna is a place in Mawathagama division of Kurunegala district.

Ne'lu-vini, also written as Nezhu-vini, is a locality name found in the west part of Delft Island in Jaffna district

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Some related place names:

Vinna:

Naa-vinna: Maharagama division, Colombo district; Bope-Poddala division, Galle district

Koa-vinna: Katana division, Gampaha district. Koa-vrksha: a tree (Sinhala, Sorata)

Mora-vinna: Panadura division, Kalutara district

Goa-vinna: Bulathsinhala division, Kalutara district. Goa: cattle, also a tree (Sinhala, Sorata)

Uda-thala-vinna: The forest of the upper place or upper plain; Patadumbara division, Kandy district. See entry on Palle-thala-vinna

Palle-thala-vinna: The forest of the lower place or lower plain; Patadumbara division, Kandy district. See entry on Uda-thala-vinna

Waa-vinna: Kundasale division, Kandy district; Ampaa'rai division, Ampaa'rai district. Waa: a tree, Cassia siamea (Sinhala); Vaakai: a tree, Sirissa, Albizzia odoratissima (Tamil, DED 5333); Vaaka: Acacia odoratissima (Malayalam, DED 5333)

Unu-vinna: Pathahewaheta division, Kandy district. U'na/Hu'na: bamboo (Sinhala)

Hæda-vinna: Ambalanthota division, Hambantota district. Hæda-waka: a timber tree, Chaetocarpus castanocarpus; Hæda-kangsa: a kind of opium plant, variety of Papaver somniferum (Sinhala)

Kæla-vinna: Mahaoya division, Ampaa'rai district. Kæla in this context seems to be Kææla, meaning a tree, probably Gas-kææla, i.e., Butea Frondosa (Sinhala, Clough, Sorata)

Indi-vinna: Pannala division, Kurunegala district

Dehi-vinna: Hali-Ela division, Badulla district

Damba-vinna: Welimada division, Badulla district; Godakawela division, Ratnapura district

Kænda-vinna: Medagama division, Moneragala district. Kænda: candlenut tree, Tel-kækuna, Croton Moluccanum

Kolon-vinna: Moneragala division, Moneragala district. Kolon: probably Ko'lom: the Kadamba tree, Adina cordifolia (Sinhala, Sorata, Clough)

Kos-pæla-vinna: Ratnapura division, Ratnapura district

Ratmala-vinna: Imbulpe division, Ratnapura district

Diya-vinna: Balangoda division, Ratnapura district

Domba-gas-vinna: Pelmadulla division, Ratnapura district

Bala-vinna: Gadakawela division, Ratnapura district. Bala: a timber tree, Nothopegia colebrookiana (Sinhala)

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Minna:

Indi-minna: Ja-Ela division, Gampaha district

Korada-minna: Divulapitiya division, Gampaha district. Korada: probably a plant/ shrub/ creeper; Kora-kaha: a small plant (Sinhala, Sorata); Korosa-wæla: Delima sarmentosa (Sinhala, Clough); Korosa-kola: leaves of a creeper used to clean furniture (Sinhala, Clough); Korossa: a place name, Rideegama division, Kurunegala district

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Vini:

Vinilaiyadip-pooval: The waterhole in the jungle locality; near Paddippazhai, Kokkaddichchoalai (One Inch Sheet)

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Hora:Hora-kanda-wala: Padukka division, Colombo district

Hora-gala: Padukka division, Colombo district; Kotapala division, Matara district

Hora-thuduwa: Kesbewa division, Colombo district

Hora-gas-mulla: Divulapitiya division, Gampaha district

Horam-pælla: Minuwangoda division, Gampaha district

Hora-pea-thuduwa: Wattala division, Gampaha district

Hora-golla: Gampaha division, Gampaha district; Tattota division, Matale district; Mahawewa division, Puththa'lam district

Hora-golla-gama: Attanagala division, Gampaha district

Hora'na: Horana division, Kalutara district

Hora-wala: Mathugama division, Kalutara district

Hora-gaha-pitiya: Ukuwela division, Matale district

Horan-galla: Niyagama division, Galle district

Hora-gam-pita: Baddegama division, Galle district

Horadu-goda: Imaduwa division, Galle district

Hora-paa-vita: Mulatiyana division, Matara district

Hora-goda: Malimbada division, Matara district

Hora-gas-agaara: Bingiriya division, Kurunegala district

Horathæ-pola: Udubaddawa division, Kurunegala district

Hora-wadunna: Pannala division, Kurunegala district

Hora-po'la: Kekirawa division, Anuradhapura district

Hora-dorowwa: Haputale division, Badulla district

Hora-bokka: Buttala division, Moneragala district

Hora-kætiya: Balangoda division, Ratnapura district

Horang-gala: Nivithigala division, Ratnapura district

Hora-mula: Godakawela division, Ratnapura district

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Eeriya:

Eeriya-gas-thænna: Pathadumbara division, Kandy district

Eeriya-gama: Kandy Four Gravets division, Kandy district; Yatinuwara division, Kandy district; Thanbuttegama division, Anuradhapura district

Eeriya-golla: Matale division, Matale district; Ukuwela division, Matale district; Rideegama division, Kurunegala district; Pannala division, Kurunegala district; Narammala division, Kurunegala district; rambukkana division, Kegalle district

Eeriya-gaha-mulla: Gonapeenuwala division, Galle district

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Ne'lu:

Ne'luk-ku'lam: Vavuniyaa division, Vavuniyaa district

Nelu-golla-kada: Kahatagasdigiliya division, Anuradhapura district

Kudaa Ne'lu-bæwa: Nachchaduwa division, Anuradhapura district

Mahaa Ne'lu-bæwa: Nachaduwa division, Anuradhapura district

Ne'lu-danda: Hali-Ela division, Badulla district

Ne'luwa-gala: Wellawaya division, Moneragala district

Ne'lu-yaaya: Balangoda division, Ratnapura district

Neluwak-kana: Bulathkohopitiya division, Kegalle district

Ne'lu-wathu-kanda: Yatiyanthota division, Kegalle district

Ne'luwattuduwa: Ne'lu-wattu-tuduwa: Seethawaka division, Colombo district

Ne'luwaa-kanda: Rattota division, Matale district

Ne'luwa: Neluwa division, Galle district; Hali-Ela division, Galle district;

First published: Friday, 11 March 2016, 17:15