Know the Etymology: 492
Place Name of the Day: Tuesday, 16 August 2016

Naṭut-turutti, Naḍukāra-deṇiya

நடுத்துருத்தி, நடு₃[க்]காரதெ₃ணிய
Naṭut-turutti, Naḍukāra-deṇiya

Naṭu+turutti
Naḍu+kāra+deṇiya

The islet in the middle

The muddy valley of the judge

Turutti	islet in a river (Tamil, DED 3344); island (Malayalam, DED 3344); from Turuttu: (verb) to bulge, protrude, thrust out (Tamil, DED 3369); Turitti: "Galā siṭina vatura"(Sinhala, Sorata, noted with a question mark)
Naṭu	middle, centre, equity, (Tamil, DED 3584)
Naḍukāra	judge (Sinhala, Clough); Naḍu: (plural), Naḍuwa: (singular) justice, equity, judgement of a court of justice (Sinhala, Clough); Naṭu: middle, centre, equity (Tamil, DED 3584); Naṭuvaṉ: judge, arbiter (Tamil, DED 3584); Kāra: doer (Sinhala); making, doing, working, a maker, doer (Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit, from the root Kṛi, CDIAL 3053, Monier Williams); Kara: doing, causing (Sanskrit, Atharva Vedic, CDIAL 2779); hand (Sanskrit, Rig Vedic, CDIAL 2779); Kāraṉ, Kāṟaṉ: doer, possessor (Tamil, MTL, traced to Kāra)
Deṇiya	muddy valley, low muddy ground adjacent to a high ground; "Usbima atara pihiṭi maḍabima" (Sinhala, Sorata); Drōṇi: valley (Sanskrit, CDIAL 6644); Tāḻ: (verb) to be low, be deep, to descend, to sink in water (Tamil, DED 3178); Tāṇ: (verb) colloquial form of Tāḻ, as in Tāṇṭu-pōṉa for one that has sunk (Tamil, Ḻ/ Ṇ change); Tāḻvu: depth as of a pit, mountain foot (Tamil, DED 3178)

Turutti in Tamil usage is an islet or sandbank formed in the middle of a river, mouth of a river, mouth of a lagoon etc. In Malayalam usage, Turutti means an islet or small island. The toponymic usage of the word is more commonly noticed in Malayalam. The Dravidian term (DED 3344) comes from the verb, Turuttu, meaning to bulge, protrude or thrust out (Tamil, DED 3369).

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Turutti meaning an islet or sandbank in a river:

“பிறங்கு இணர் துருத்தி சூழ்ந்து அறல் வாரும் வையை” (கலித்தொகை, 30: 15-16)

“Piṟaṅku iṇar tuṟutti cūḻntu aṟal vārum vaiyai eṉṟu” (Kalittokai, 30: 15-16)

The river Vaiyai would surround the islet of flourishing flowers and would bring in more sand (during summer when the flow of water is smooth)


Turutti meaning an island:

“எம் கோ இரு முந்நீர்த் துருத்தியுள் முரணியோர்த் தலைச்சென்று” (பதிற்றுப்பத்து, 20: 1-3)

“Em kō iru munnīrt turuttiyuḷ muraṇiyōrt talaicceṉṟu” (Patiṟṟuppattu, 20: 1-3)

Our king went against the opponents in the islands of the vast ocean [a reference to the Cēra king’s naval expedition in the Caṅkam times to Laccadives-Maldives atolls; Mun-nīr: tri-junction of three waters, what are called today as Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean]

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The Tamil/ Dravidian term Naṭu (DED 3584) basically means middle or centre. Deriving from the locational/ positional meaning it also means equity in Tamil and there are many phrases coined from the term, meaning justice, judge, judgement, arbiter etc.

In Sinhala usage, Naḍu doesn't have the locational meaning, but it stands for equity and justice. There are many Naḍu-related Sinhala phrases for judge, judgement, legal process, judicial investigation, lawsuit, judicial degree, to sit in judgement etc.

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Naṭut-turutti, or Naṭu-turitti is an islet located in the middle, between the main island of Punkudutheevu and the islet of Kuṟikāṭṭuvāṉ, in the Kayts division of Jaffna district (One Inch Sheet).

Naḍu-kāra-deṇiya is a place in Kuruvita division of Ratnapura district

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Some related place names:

Turutti:

Turuttip-piṭṭi: also, Turitip-piṭṭi, Turutu-piṭṭi: a sandbank located at the entrance to the Jaffna Lagoon, between Karainagar and Punnalai in the Jaffna district (One Inch Sheet)

Naṭu:

Naṭut-tīvu: The island or islet in the middle; Kinniya, Trincomale; Moothoor, Trincomale

Naṭuk-kuṟicci: The middle part; Punkudutheevu, Jaffna district (One Inch Sheet)

First published: Tuesday, 16 August 2016, 16:38