Know the Etymology: 280
Place Name of the Day: Sunday, 01 September 2013

Borella

பொ₃ரெள்ள
Boreḷḷa

Bore'l'la

(The place of) pebbles, gravel or gritty soil

Bora'lu

Gravel, pebbles, a gravelly or gritty soil, chaff (Sinhala); Paral: Pebble, seed (Tamil, DED 3959); Grit, coarse grain, gravel, cowry shell (Malayalam, DED 3959); Parukkai, Parukkaik-kal: Small pebbles (Tamil, DED 3959); Paru-ma'nal: Grit, sandstone (Tamil, DED 3959); Parl: Pebble (Kota, DED 3959); Paral, Para'l: Pebble, stone (Kannada, DED 3959); Para: Pebble (Kodagu, DED 3959); Parelu: Grain of sand, grit, gravel, grain of corn etc., (Tulu, DED 3959)

Bore'l'la is a toponymic formulation of the Sinhala word Bora'lu, meaning pebbles, gravel or a gritty soil. Both the terms are found used in the Sinhala place names. Bora'lu comes in the prefixes and Bore'l'la is either found alone or comes as a suffix (see related place names given below).

The Sinhala terms are Dravidian in etymology, having cognates in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Tulu, Kota and Kodagu (Dravidian Etymological Dictionary 3959).

In word formation, Bora'lu shows closer affinities with the Tulu cognate Parelu and the Kannada cognate Para'l (see table).

The Tamil cognate Paral comes out with the oldest known usage examples that are found in the Changkam literature.

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Paral meaning pebbles in a water source:

“Van paral the'l a'ral parukiya iralai” (Ku'runthokai, 65:1)

“வன் பரல் தெள் அறல் பருகிய இரலை” (குறுந்தொகை, 65:1)

The stag that drank the clear water in the hard pebble (bedded water source)


Paral meaning hard gravel or gritty soil:

“Nedunthear van paral murampin neami athira chen'risin” (Natti'nai 394: 4-5)

“நெடுந்தேர் வன் பரல் முரம்பின் நேமி அதிர சென்றிசின்” (நற்றிணை 394: 4-5)

The tall chariot rolled through the high ground of hard gravel or grit, with a trembling of its wheels

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Bore'l'la is a part of Colombo city today. Administratively it comes under the Thimbirigasyaya division of Colombo district.

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Some related place names:

Gal-bore'l'la: The place of rock pebbles or rock-grit; Kelaniya division, Gampaha district

Bora'lu-goda: The bank, mound or hill of gravel; Kaduwela division, Colombo district; Palindunuwara division, Kalutara district

Bora'lu-ketiya: The quarter of pebbles, gravel or gritty soil; Balapitiya division, Galle district; Kirinda –Puhulwella division, Matara district

Bora'luwa-hena: The slash and burn cultivation field of pebbles, gravel or gritty soil; Niyagama division, Galle district

Bora'lu-kada: The side of pebbles, gravel or gritty soil; Baddegama division, Galle district

Bora'luwage-aina: The neighbourhood of pebble-filled, gravelly or gritty soil land; Kolonna division, Ratnapura district

First published: Sunday, 01 September 2013, 21:18