Know the Etymology: 188
Place Name of the Day: Tuesday, 15 February 2011

I'rakka'ndi

இறக்கண்டி
Iṟakkaṇṭi

I'rakka+ka'ndi
I'ravu+ka'ndi

The descending sector

I’ra

(adjective) Descending (Eezham Tamil place names); I’rai, I’rappu: Slopping roof, eaves of a house (Tamil, DED 528); I’ra-vaaram: Veranda, equivalent to Thaazh-vaaram in Tamil (Malayalam, DED 528); I’rangku: (verb) To descend (Tamil, DED 516); I’rangkal, I’rakkam: Place of descent (Tamil, DED 516); I’ravu: A valley, descending slope (Malayalam, DED 516); I’ra: (verb) To go beyond (Tamil, DED 515); I’rappu: Passing (Tamil, DED 515)

Kandi

Sector (Eezham Tamil and Sinhala place names, meaning sector, locality etc). See column on Polika’ndi and Kandy

The adjective component I’ra, and the adjective of I’rakkam such as I’rakkaththu in the Eezham Tamil place names mean a descending slope or a place of descent.

The components of Dravidian etymology under discussion are related to the words and shades of meaning listed under DED 528, 516, and in one instance Aanai-I’ravu, related to DED 515.

While I’rakkam and I’rakkaththu are of common Tamil usage, the adjective form I’ra found in the Eezham Tamil place names is somewhat peculiar to the Tamil usage.

The word formation of the component I’ra is closer to Malayalam as in I’ra-vaaram (sloping roof) in Malayalam for Thaazh-vaaram in Tamil.

See column on Poli-ka’ndi and Kandy for discussions on the component Ka’ndi, meaning a sector, locality etc.

I’rakka’ndi is a village in the Kuchchave’li division of Trincomalee district

Some related place names:

Ira-va’lai: The land-around of the descending slope; Point Pedro division, Jaffna district

Irakkaththu-vaddai: The paddy field of the descending slope; Poaratheevuppattu division, Batticaloa district

Irakkaththu-munai: The descending slope making a point; Manmunai West division, Batticaloa district

Vil-I’ravaddai: Paddy fields of the descending land having a pond; Earaavoor pattu division, Batticaloa district

Thoaappu-I’ravaddai/ I’raveddai: Paddyfields of the descending land having a grove; or the open descending land having a grove; The Thoappu prefix is to differentiate from another I’ravadai, probably, Vil-I’ravaddai in the same district; Koa’ra’laippattu division, Batticaloa district

I’rak-kaamam: The village in the descending slope; Eragama division, Ampaa’rai district

Aanai-I’ravu: The spot where elephants descend (into the lagoon to pass through); The pass of elephants; Karaichchi division, Ki’linochchi district. The place known in English as Elephant Pass was traditionally the spot where elephants cross the lagoon from the main island to the Jaffna Peninsula. The component I’ravu in this context could be explained in both ways through the Malayalam usage I’ravu (descending slope, DED 516) as well as through I’rappu (passing, DED 515)

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See Column on Polika’ndi for some examples of the component Ka’ndi in Eezham Tamil and Sinhala place names.


Some examples of place names in Tamil Nadu and Kerala having the component Ka’ndi:

Ka’ndiyoor (Ka’ndi-oor; In several places in Tamil Nadu: Thanjavur district; Sivagankai district, Coimbatore district); Thiruk-ka’ndiyoor (near Thiruvaiyaa’ru, Thanjavur district); Chempiyan-ka’ndiyoor (Mayilaaduthu’rai, Nakappaddinam district, Tamil Nadu); Ka’ndiyoor (Aalappuzhaa district, Kerala)

First published: Tuesday, 15 February 2011, 07:17