Know the Etymology: 266
Place Name of the Day: Wednesday, 17 July 2013

Usbima Kotasa

உஸ்பிம கொ[ட்]டஸ
Usbima Koṭasa

Us+bima+kotasa

The high-ground part

Us	(adjective) High, elevated (Sinhala); Usa: Height (Sinhala); Uha: (adjective) High; (noun) Height (Sinhala); Ucca: Tall, lofty, above (Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit, CDIAL 1634); Uyar: (verb) To rise, be high, elevated, lofty, grow, be excellent, eminent (Tamil, DED 646); Uyaram, Ucaram: Height, eminence (Tamil, DED 646); Uka: (verb) To ascend, rise (Tamil, DED 559); Ukai: To rise (Tamil, DED 559); Ukappu: Height, elevation (Tamil, DED 559); The root U itself stands for further or higher as in Up-paal: Further region; Umpar: Elevated spot, height, sky; Uva’n: Upper place; Uva’nam: Height (Tamil, DED 557a)
Bima	Ground, soil, landed property (Sinhala); Bhoomi: Earth, ground, place (Sanskrit, CDIAL 9557); Earth, ground (Pali, Prakrit CDIAL 9557); Bin: Ground, spot, site, place, the earth, a corrupt form of Bim (Sinhala)
Kotasa	Part, portion (Sinhala); Kohota: Share, part, portion (Sinhala); Kotthaasa: Share, portion; (adjective) Divided into (Pali, CDIAL 3549); Koashthaams’a: Koashtha+am’sa: Share of store (Sanskrit, CDIAL 3549); Koashtha: Granary, storeroom, inner apartment (Sanskrit, CDIAL 3549); Granary, apartment (Sinhala); Koaddai: Measure of grain, measure of land, paddy stored inside straw covering, hay-stack (Tamil, from the root Koatu); Fort, castle, stronghold, wall, prison (Tamil/ Dravidian languages DED 2207); Koaddam: (from the root Koadu) District, province (Tamil, MTL); A large division of territory, especially in the Tho’ndai country of ancient Tamil Nadu (Tamil, inscriptions from 550 CE).

Us, Ussa and Uha, as adjectives in Sinhala place names, mean a high or elevated landscape. Uha, which is also a noun, and Usa, the noun form of Us, mean height (note the S/ H change).

The Sinhala words have a cognate Ucca in Sanskrit, Pali and Prakrit (CDIAL 1634), meaning tall, lofty, above etc., but wider prevalence of cognates with verb forms is noticed in Dravidian languages (DED 646, 559 and 557).

Uyar, Usar as verbs and adjectives, and Uyaram, Usaram as nouns (DED 646), are parallels in Tamil. Uka and Ukai as verbs and Ukappu as noun (DED 559) make another set of parallels.

The root U itself indicates higher position in Tamil/ Dravidian, as in the examples of Umpar, Uva’n, Uva’nam etc (DED 557a, see box above).

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Bima in Sinhala means ground, soil or a landed property. As a place name component the word mostly indicates a landed property. Bin in Sinhala is a derivative of Bima. Both Bima and Bin correspond to Bhoomi in Sanskrit, Pali and Prakrit, and the words are of Indo-Aryan etymology (CDIAL 9557).

Kotasa and Kohota mean a part, portion or share in Sinhala. They are cognates of Kotthaasa in Pali, meaning a share or portion and Koaddam in Tamil meaning a division of territory.

A Comparative dictionary of Indo-Aryan Languages (CDIAL) traces the etymology of the Sinhala and Pali words to Koashthaams’a (Koashtha+ams’a) in Sanskrit, meaning share of store (CDIAL 3549). Koashtha in Sanskrit means pot, granary, storeroom and inner apartment (CDIAL 3546), corresponding to Koaddai in Tamil, meaning a measure of paddy, measure of land, store of paddy, fort, castle, stronghold etc. Koaddai in the above shades of meaning is treated as a word of Dravidian etymology, coming from the root Koadu (DED 2207)

The use of the word Koaddam, in the sense of a division of territory, could be found in Tamil inscriptions dating from 550 CE. The usage was popular especially in the Tho’ndai region of the ancient Tamil country.

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Koaddam meaning a large division:

“Ve'n kun'rak koaddaththu” (c. 550 CE, TASSI 1958-59 p 41-83)

“வெண் குன்றக் கோட்டத்து” (c. 550 CE, TASSI 1958-59 p 41-83)

Of the Ve’n Kun’ram division




Koaddam meaning an administrative unit of territory:

“Koaddaththaarkkum naaddaarkkum mezhuku thirumukam aru'lach cheythu” (c. 750 CE, Epigraphia Indica, V, p8)

“கோட்டத்தார்க்கும் நாட்டார்க்கும் மெழுகு திருமுகம் அருளச் செய்து” (c. 750 CE, Epigraphia Indica, V, p8)

Gracing the district assembly members and the provincial assembly members by sending wax-sealed letters to them

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Usbima Kotasa is a place in Ampaa’rai division of Ampaa’rai district

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Some related place names:

Koatasa: (note the relatively modern usage of the component in the names of recent colonies and partitioned villages)

Wanniyan-ku’lama Kotasa 1–6 are the 6 parts of the Vanniyan-ku’lam village that have become separate administrative villages now in the N. Palatha East division of Anuradhapura district. The original name of the village, Vanniyan-ku’lam in Tamil, is Sinhalicised into Wanniyan-ku’lama in the last century with demographic changes in the district. Kotasa, meaning a part, is a recent addition.

Rajawatta Aluth Kotasa: The new part of the Rajawatta village; Kalutara division, Kalutara district

Rajawatta Parana Kotasa: The old part of the Rajawatta village; Kalutara division, Kalutara district

110 Kotasa: The 110 parts (of land); Ampaa’rai division of Ampaa’rai district

2B Gramaya Galu Kotasa: The rocky part of the 2B village (a new colony); Ampaa’rai division, Ampaa’rai district

2B Gramaya Kolamba Kotasa: The Kolamba trees part of the 2B village (a new colony); Ampaa’rai division, Ampaa’rai district

88 Kotasa: The 88 parts; Ampaa’rai division, Ampaa’rai district

Meda-kotasa: The middle part; Damana division, Ampaa’rai district

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Kohota:

Ata-kohota: The branch part; Elpitiya division, Galle district

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Us, Ussa, Uha:

Us-gala: The high rock or rocky hill; Thanamalvila division, Moneragala district; Galgamuwa division, Kurunegala district

Ussa-gala: The high rock or rocky hill; Bibile division, Moneragala district

Ussa-pitiya: The high plain; Aranayake division, Kegalle district

Ussawa: The high place; or Us-wewa; Ibbagamuwa division, Kurunegala district

Us-wewa: The tank in the higher place: Kotavehera division, Kurunegala district

Usa-mala-goda: The upper part of the Malagoda village; Kotapola division, Matara district

Us-attawa: The upper branch; Naula division; Matale district

Us-watta: The upper garden or grove; Kalutara division; Kalutara district; Ja-Ela division, Gampaha district; Moratuwa division, Colombo district

Us-godella: The high mound or hill; Kalutara division, Kalutara district

Uhanovita: Uhana-ovita: The upper part of the Ovita (boundary between highland and wetland); Niyagama division, Galle district

Uha-pita-goda: The high plain making the bank; Ambalantota division, Hambantota district

Uhana: The high place; Uhana division, Ampaa’rai district

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Uyar:

Uyarap-pulam: The high open land; Sandilippaay division, Jaffna district

Uyarip-piddi: The high mound of plain; Poonakari division, Ki’linochchi district

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Bima, Bin:

Maa-bima: The big ground; Gampaha division, Gampaha district

Bim-pokuna: The sinkhole ground; or the ground having a sinkhole pool; Dimbulagala division, Polonnaruwa district

Saru-bima: The fine earth; Elahera division, Polonnaruwa district

Bingan-thalawa: The grassland earth; Walapane division, Nuwara Eliya district

Maa-bin-goda: The big earthen bank or hill or the village of big land; Karandeniya division, Galle district

Bin-thenna: The flat ground; Katuwana division, Hambantota district

Bin-griya: The earthen hill; Bingriya division, Kurunegala district

Binge-thenna: The flat land locality of the cave or cavern; Haputale division, Badulla district. Binge: Bin-ge: house in ground > cave or cavern

Bindunu-wewa: The broken tank; Bandarawela division, Badulla district

Galen-bindunu-wewa: The tank of broken or cracked rocks; Galenbindunuwewa division, Anuradhapura district

Gal-bindina-ela: The stream or canal of the cracked rocks; Rideegama division, Kurunegala district. Bindinawaa: to break; Bindenawaa: to break of itself; Binduwanawaa: to cause to break (Sinhala)

First published: Wednesday, 17 July 2013, 08:23