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Date: Sun, 31 Mar 2002 12:35:09 -0000
To: agathiyar@yahoogroups.com
Subject: yAn2ai 'elephant'
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Saw some time ago in Agathiyar about the
derivation of yAn2ai. Prof. Pa. AruLi
of Tamil university says in a book
that "yA" meaning 'black' gives birth to
the name "yAn2ai".
Here are my thoughts, appreciate your
inputs on the name, yAn2ai.
There are pairs connecting -l- and -n2-.
a)V. S. Rajam's book connects
til- with tiRRi, tin2ai, tIn2i.
b) In Kongu dialect, nalai- is
used in place of nan2ai-.
c) cilampi/cilanti 'spider' comes
from cila- 'to issue forth'.
Signifies the spider web,
This cil- 'to issue forth'
is seen also in 'cin2ai' (pregnant).
d) mulai 'breast' and mun2ai 'tip'.
e) mEl/mEn2i 'body'.
f) vali 'to stretch' and van2ai 'to work
on clay making pottery'.
g) nil 'stand' and nin2aivu 'memory'
h) vAl "white, bright' and vAn2 'sky'
Considering these -l-/-n2- pairs,
yAn2ai is fromed from yAl- = toGkutal
'to hang' which refers to the trunk
of the elephant. In Sanskrit
karam, hasti also refers to the trunk.
yAn2 changes to njAn2, nAn2 in tamil
later. Note nAlvAy refers to elephant
in tamil.
Hence, the submission that
yAn2ai is formed from the verb, yAl-
"to hang" refering to the elephant trunk.
Your thoughts are appreciated,
N. Ganesan
PS: njAlam 'world' may refer to
the hanging nature of the world in space.
aal 'the banyan' comes also from yAl-
refering to the aerial roots. See
Parpola volume explaining vaTa is
dravidian, with vaTam = 'rope' in tamil.
