Know the Etymology: 476
Place Name of the Day: Monday, 18 July 2016

Gomu-gomuva, Gomila

கொ₃மு-கொ₃முவ, கொ₃மில
Gomu-gomuva, Gomila

Gomu+gomuva
Gomi/ Gomu+la

The cowherds’ jungle or thicket

The jungle or thicket

Gomuva

thicket (Sinhala, Clough); Gomu: jungle, thicket, “Gulmaya, Lẹhẹba” (Sinhala, Sorata); Gulma: clump of trees (Sanskrit, non-Aryan origin suggested, CDIAL 4217); Gumpu: forest, thick growth (Kannada, Nanjangudu dialect, DED 1733); multitude (Telugu, Tulu, DED 1741); related to Gummu: multitude (Kannada, DED 1741); Gumi: multitude (Telugu, DED 1741); Gombu, Gōmbu: heap (Kuwi, DED 1741); Gumbra, Kumbra: clump of trees (Kuwi, DED 1741); Kumi: (verb) to be heaped up, accumulate (Tamil, DED 1741).

Gom

keeper, guard, preserver, protector (Sinhala, Clough); Gomu: from Govu: cowherd, protector, “Gopakayā, Rakinnā” (Sinhala, Sorata); Gomudū: stall, place for keeping cattle (Sinhala, Clough); Gō: ox, cow (Sanskrit, CDIAL 4255); Kōp: (verb) to tend cattle (Parji, Gadba, DED 2218); Kōpal, Kopāl: cowherd (Gondi, DED 2218); Kōpa:(verb) to tend, herd cattle (Kui, DED 2218); DED traces to Kā: (verb) to preserve, shelter, watch, guard (Tamil, DED 1416)

Gomuva in Sinhala means a thicket or jungle.

A probable cognate Gulma in Sanskrit, meaning clump of trees, is considered to be of non-Aryan origin (CDIAL 4217).

A direct and closer cognate could be Gumpu, found in Nanjangudu dialect of Kannada/ Dravidian, meaning thick growth and forest (DED 1733). The term has cognates in other Dravidian languages such as Tulu, Telugu and Kuwi too, meaning multitude (DED 1741). See box for the Kuwi cognates meaning heap as well as clump of trees. The verb root Kumi, meaning to be heaped up, could be found in Tamil (DED 1741). Also see column 154, Maṇṭu-kumintāṉ, for a related use of the term in Eezham Tamil place names.

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The prefix part Gomu in the place name Gomu-gomuva may be related to Gom/ Govu > Gomu, meaning cowherd or protector/ keeper of cattle. Gomudū in Sinhala means a place for keeping cattle. In these meanings the words could be traced to Gō meaning ox or cow in Sanskrit (CDIAL 4255).

However, Gomu/ Govu could also be traced to the verb Kop, in Parji and Gadba, meaning to tend cattle (DED 2218). DED traces cognate terms found in many Dravidian languages to the verb Kā in Tamil, meaning to preserve, shelter, guard, watch etc. (DED 2218, 1416).

The place name Gomila is probably Gomu+la affix, meaning a thicket or jungle.

The other related place names cited below may be connected to jungle or to cattle.

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Gomu-gomuva is a place in Panduwasnuwara West division of Kurunegala district

Gomila is in Pasgoda division of Matara district

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Some related place names:

Gom-baddala: Mulatiyana, Matara

Goṁburu-oya: Kothmale, Nuwara Eliya

Uḍa-gomaḍiya: Katuwana, Hambantota

Vaṭa-gommana: Meegahakivula, Badulla

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Gōmati-yāya: Dimbulagala, Polonnaruwa

Gōmaran-kalla: Galenbindunuwewa, Anuradhapura

Gōmaran-kaḍavala: Gomarankadawala, Trincomalee

Gōmaraya: Panvila, Kandy

First published: Monday, 18 July 2016, 20:05