Know the Etymology: 484
Place Name of the Day: Sunday, 31 July 2016

Kuṁbuk-gẹṭē

கும்புக்கெ[æ]₃டே[æ]
Kuṁbuk-gẹṭē

Kuṁbuk+gẹṭē

The grove of Kumbuk trees

Gẹṭē

also Gẹṭa, Gẹṭi, Gẹṭu: related to Ghaṭā: collection, assemblage; “Samūhaya” (Sinhala, Sorata); Gẹṭi: = Gẹtīma: = Ghaṭṭanaya: (Sinhala, Sorata); assembling; 1. Ghaṭēti: unites, joins (Pali, CDIAL 4407); 2. Kẹṭi: heap, multitude, assemblage; “Goḍa, Gaṇāna (Sinhala, Sorata); Kaṭṭu: (verb) to tie, fasten (Tamil, DED 1147); Keṭṭu: tie, bundle (Malayalam, DED 1147); Geṭṭe: bale, bundle (Kannada, DED 1147): see column on Bora-gas-kẹṭiya; 3. Kūṭu: (verb) to come together, join, assemble (Tamil, DED 1882); Kūṭṭu: (noun) joining, mixture (Tamil, DED 1882); Kūṭṭam: crowd, group (Tamil, DED 1882); assembly, flock, heap (Malayalam, DED 1882); Kūṭa: assembly (Tulu, DED 1882); multitude, assemblage (Sinhala, Clough); Kūṭal: grove, dense collection of trees (Tamil, Kathiraiverpillai); a thick grove, commonly of palmyras (Tamil, Winslow, MTL); see column on Payirik-kūṭal

Kuṁbuk

the tree Terminalia arjuna (Sinhala, Sorata); Terminalia glabra (Sinhala, Clough); Kakuha: Terminalia arjuna (Sanskrit, CDIAL 2584); Kakubha: lofty (Sanskrit, CDIAL 2584); Gummu: thickness (Kannada, DED 1741); Gumpu: flock, multitude (Tulu, Kannada, DED 1741); Guburu, Gumuru: thickness as of foliage (Telugu, DED 1741); Kumbra, Gumbra: clump of trees (Kuwi, DED 1741); from Kumi: to heap up, accumulate, gather (Tamil, DED 1741)

The toponymic terms Gẹṭē, Gẹṭa, Gẹṭi and Gẹṭu in Sinhala mean a grove, thicket or a collection of trees, bushes or plants, usually of one kind.

The terms correspond to Sinhala dictionary entries, Ghaṭa, Kẹṭi and Kūṭa, meaning collection, assemblage, heap and multitude. Samūhaya, Goḍa and Gaṇāna are the meanings given to these terms in Sinhala dictionaries.

In toponymic usage and meaning, Gẹṭē and its variations in Sinhala find the closest parallel in the Tamil toponymic usage, Kūṭal, as in examples like, Puḷiyaṅ-kūṭal (tamarind-tree grove), Panaṅ-kūṭal (palmyra-palm grove), Payirik-kūṭal (dense growth of Payiri herb) etc. The corresponding verb root found in Tamil/ Dravidian is Kūṭu, meaning to join or assemble (DED 1882), and note Kūṭa in Sinhala meaning multitude or assemblage.

Another etymological possibility is the verb forms Ghaṭeti in Pali (CDIAL 4407) and Kaṭṭu in Tamil/ Dravidian (DED 1147) corresponding to Kẹṭi in Sinhala, in the shades of meaning, heap, multitude or assemblage. Note the Kannada word form Geṭṭe in this context. Also see earlier columns on Kẹṭiya in Sinhala and Kaṭṭi in Eezham Tamil place names.

See column on Kuṁbukkan-oya for discussion on Kuṁbuk meaning the tree Terminalia arjuna in Sinhala, probably coming from loftiness (Gummu in Kannada, DED 1741).

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Kuṁbuk-gẹṭē is a place in Ganewatta division of Kurunegala district.

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Some related place names:

Gẹṭē:

Jūlaň-gẹṭē: The wood-apple grove; Embilipitiya, Ratnapura

Miṇuvan-gẹṭē: The multitude of Minuvan-paň plants; Wariyapola, Kurunegala: Miṇuvan: probably Minuvan-paň: a plant of the genus Cyperus (Sinhala, Clough)

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Gẹṭa:

Ińdi-gẹṭa-vela: The paddy field in the date palm thicket; Angunakolapelessa, Hambantota

Gẹṭa-mānna: The grove area or the grove side; Beliatta, Hambantota. Māna: Pradeśaya, Diśāva, Pẹtta (Sorata); Mānān: Pahat taṇabima (spoken Sinhala, Sorata)

Gẹṭa-bēri-kanda: The hill of the grove part; Aranayake, Kegalle. Bēri, Bēriya: part, division, “Koṭasa” (Uḍaraṭa Sinhala, Sorata); Bē: part, piece, “Ardhaya, Kẹbẹlla” (Sinhala, Sorata); part, division (Sinhala, Clough); Bā: part, division, “Bhāgaya, Koṭasa” (Sinhala, Sorata); Pā: (verb) to divide (Tamil, DED 3808); Piri: (verb) to divide (Tamil, DED 4176); Pirivu, Pirippu, Piriccal: division (Tamil, DED 4176)

Gẹṭalāva: The grove; Galenbindunuwewa, Anuradhapura. Gẹṭa+la affix+va affix

Gẹṭa-hẹtta: The grove side or neighbourhood; Eheliyagoda, Ratnapura. Hẹtta: related to Hata, Ata: edge, side, direction, neighbourhood, (Sinhala)

Mādu-gẹṭa: Neluwa, Galle

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Gẹṭu:

Gẹṭulāva: The grove; Bingiriya, Kurunegala. Gẹṭu+la affix+va affix

Gẹṭṭuvāna: The grove; Kurunegala, Kurunegala; Mallawapitiya, Kurunegala. Gẹṭu+āna affix

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Gẹṭi:

Gẹṭiya-mulla: The grove corner; or the grove locality; Bulathkohupitiya, Kegalle

First published: Sunday, 31 July 2016, 15:46