Know the Etymology: 491
Place Name of the Day: Sunday, 14 August 2016

Molệva, Ẹtini-molē

மொலே[ǣ]வ, எ[æத்]தினி-மொலே
Molệva, Ẹtini-molē

Mola+ẹva affix
Ẹt+ẹṇi+mola

The waterhole

The waterhole of elephant herd

Moḷa

also Moḷai: waterhole, subterranean passage of water, “Diyavaḷa, Poḷowa yaṭin dẹmu kāṇuva” (Sinhala, Sorata); Mōḻai: pool, subterranean watercourse (Tamil, DED 4994); a deep source of water (Tamil, Periyāḻvār, 3: 7: 4); related to Muḻai: (verb) to enter, pierce, bore; (noun) cave, cavern, den (Tamil, DED 4994); related to Mōṭṭai: natural pond (Eezham Tamil, Ḻ/ Ṭ change)

Etini

female elephant, “Hastiniya” (Sinhala, Sorata); in the case of the place name, probably, Ẹtẹṇi: = Ẹt+ẹṇi: herd of elephants, multitude of elephants, “Hasti samūhaya” (Sinhala, Sorata); Ẹt: elephant (Sinhala, Sorata); Hastin: having hands, clever with the hands, elephant (Sanskrit, Rig Vedic, CDIAL 14039); Ẹṇi: multitude, assemblage; “Samūhaya”(Sinhala, Sorata); array of troops (Sinhala, Clough); “Kańdavura” (Sinhala, Sorata); Aṇi: array of an army, order, regularity, row (Tamil, DED 117)

Molē is a seldom-found component in Sinhala place names, confined to Kurunegala district.

It seems Molē corresponds to the Sinhala word Moḷa, which according to Sorata’s Sinhala dictionary means a waterhole or subterranean watercourse. Sorata cites Dhampiyā aṭuvā gẹṭapadya, Dharmapradipikāva and Pansiyapaṇasjātaka pota for the Sinhala usage of the word.

Moḷa, in this sense of meaning, is a cognate of Mōḻai in old Tamil/ Dravidian, meaning a pool, subterranean watercourse (DED 4994) or a deep source of water, usually a natural pond (usages found since 7th century CE). Mōḻai is related to Muḻai, a much older usage (Caṅkam diction) in Tamil/ Dravidian, for a cave, cavern or den (DED 4994).

Related to the old Tamil and Sinhala word forms, yet with a linguistic difference, Eezham Tamil has the term Mōṭṭai, commonly used for natural ponds (Ḻ/ Ḷ/ Ṭ change).

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Ẹtini in Sinhala means a female elephant, corresponding to Hastinī in Sanskrit.

However, the term in Sinhala place names seems to be meaning elephant in general. In such a case, Ẹtini is a changed form of the phrase Ẹtẹṇi, (Ẹt+ẹṇi), which in Sinhala means a herd of elephants (Hasti-samūhaya).

While the Ẹt part of the phrase meaning elephant is a cognate of Hastin in Sanskrit (CDIAL 14039), Ẹṇi meaning multitude, array or troops etc., is related to Aṇi in Tamil/ Dravidian, meaning the same (DED 117).

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Molẹva is a place name noticed in Galgamuwa division of Kurunegala district.

Ẹtini-molē is in Ehetuwewa division of Kurunegala district.

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Some related place names:

Ẹtini:

Ẹtini-vẹṭunu-gala: Galgamuwa, Kurunegala. Vẹṭuṇu/ Vẹṭunu: fallen, “Patita” (Sinhala, Sorata); Vīḻ: (verb) to fall, fall down, die (Tamil, DED 5430); Biṭing: to come down (Brahui, DED 5430); Vīṭu: (verb) to perish, die (Tamil, DED 5452); Paṭu: (verb) to perish, lay horizontally, cast down, fell (Tamil, DED 3852); Paṭṭa: fallen (Tamil, DED 3852); Paṭṭāna, Paṭṭīnā: to lie down as of animals (Gondi, DED 3852)

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Mola in the following place names seems to be meaning Mola-gaha, a tree (Sinhala, Clough):

Mola-goḍa: Pujapitiya, Kandy; Rambukkana, Kegalle

Mola-goḍayā-vatta: Pathadumbara, Kandy

Moḷa-daṇda: Yatinuwara, Kandy

Mōla-kẹpu-patāna: Thissamaharama, Hambantota. Mōla: pestle (Sinhala)

Mōla-eḷiya: Bingiriya, Kurunegala

Mola-mura: Balangoda, Ratnapura

First published: Sunday, 14 August 2016, 16:52