Know the Etymology: 369
Place Name of the Day: Saturday, 11 October 2014

Maa-do'la

மாதொ₃ள
Mādoḷa

Maa+do'la

The big streamlet coming from the hill

Do'la	also Dola: Rill, small brook, streamlet, which has its source in a mountain (Sinhala); “Kandakin galaabasnaa diyapaara” (Sinhala, Sorata); Toatu: watercourse, natural and artificial (Malayalam, DED 3543); Toadu: watercourse (Kannada, DED 3543); Coadi: rivulet (Kannada, DED 3543); Todee: small stream, drain in paddy fields (Kodagu, DED 3543); Toadu: drain, sewer, gutter, brook, canal (Tulu, DED 3543); Toada: stream (Koraga, DED 3543); Doraa, Dodaa: river, rivulet (Gonda, DED 3543); Dora: running brook (Gonda, DED 3543). Note the L/ D/ R changes and D/ T/ C changes. The entries are probably related to the verb root Tho'l: to perforate, bore through, dig out (Tamil, DED 3528); Tho'l'lai: hole, perforation, pit, anything tubular (Tamil, DED 3528); Thu'lai: hole, hollow as of a tube, passage (Tamil, DED 3528)
Do'la 2	beautiful forest region, “Rama'niya vanaprades'aya” (Sinhala, Sorata); Cala, Celuvu: beauty, elegance, niceness (Kannada, DED 2786); Chezhi: (verb) to grow well as vegetation (Tamil, DED 2789); Chezhumai: beauty, verdure (Tamil, DED 2789). C/ D change.
Maa	(adjective) Great, large (Sinhala); Mahaa: (adjective) Great, large (Sinhala); Mahaa: (in compounds) Great (Sanskrit, Prakrits, CDIAL 9937); Maa: Great (Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, DED 4786); Maal: Great, great man (Tamil, DED 4786)

The word Do'la in Sinhala place names, sometimes written as Dola, means a rill, small brook or streamlet that comes down from a hill.

Sorata Nayaka Thera's Sinhala dictionary explains the word as watercourse flowing down a hill (Kandakin galaabasnaa diyapaara).

Direct cognates of this word are found not in Tamil but in other Dravidian languages.

Do'la corresponds to Toatu in Malayalam and Toadu in Kannada meaning a watercourse, Toadu meaning a brook in Tulu, Todee meaning a small stream or drain in Kodagu, Todaa meaning a stream in Koraga, Dodaa meaning a rivulet in Gonda and Dora meaning a running brook in Gonda. See box above for the other words.

The words are listed as of Dravidian etymology (DED 3543). Note the usual phonetic changes among, L, D, T and R in the second syllable, as well as D, T, C changes in the first syllable. Also note the connections among the Dravidian-speaking hill regions in the usage of these terms.

Even though there is no direct cognate in Tamil, the Tamil verb root Tho'l for making a perforating erosion and the nouns Tho'l'lai, Tho'lai and Thu'lai for perforation, anything hollow as a tube and a passage (DED 3528), could be of relevance here as the act of a hill streamlet is deep erosion.

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Do'la has another meaning in Sinhala. It also stands for a charming forest region (Rama'niya Vanaprades'aya, according to Sorata). In this shade of meaning, the word corresponds to Cala/ Celuve in Kannada, meaning beauty (DED 2786), and to Chezhi/ Chezhumai in Tamil meaning rich growth of vegetation, beauty, verdure etc. (DED 2789). However, the place-name usage of Do'la in Sinhala seems to be confined to the meaning, hill-streamlet.

Maa meaning, big, great, large etc., in Sinhala and meaning the same in Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada, could be traced to both Dravidian and Indo-Aryan (DED 4786, CDIAL 9937). See box.

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Maa-do'la is a place in Opanayake division of Ratnapura district. There is another place, Maa-dola in Dehiovita division of Kegalle district

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Some related place names:

Hal-do'la: The hill-streamlet in the locality of Hal trees; Elapatha division, Ratnapura district

Waraa-dola: The hill-streamlet in the locality of Waraa trees; Badalkumbura division, Moneragala district

Do'la-hamu'na: The dam across the hill-streamlet; Panduwasnuwara West division, Kurunegala district. Hamu'na: Amu'na (Sinhala, Sorata)

Dola-maawatha: The road along the hill-streamlet; Akuressa division, Matara district

Bata-do'la: The hill-streamlet in the locality of Bata plants; Mulatiyana division, Matara district

Kiriwæl-do'la: The hill-streamlet in the locality of Kiri-wæl plants; Kotapola division, Matara district. Kiri-wæl: a creeping plant, Morinda umbellate, also Ichnocarpus frutescens

Kætan-do'la: The hill-streamlet running through pebble stones; Akmeemana division, Galle district; Elpitiya division, Galle district

Beraliya-do'la: The hill-streamlet in the locality of Beraliya trees; Bope-poddala division, Galle district. Beraliya: Doona cordifolia or Shorea cordifilia, a tree of edible seeds peculiar to the island. The tree is also called Kotikan-beraliya (Kotikaa: areca nut)

Hoama-do'la: The hill-streamlet in the locality of Hoama plants; Nagoda division, Galle district. Hoama-gas: a kind of Bassia

Kadiran-do'la: The hill-streamlet of Kadira trees; Elpitiya division, Galle district. Kadira: also Kihiri (Sorata), Acacia catechu

Aanda-do'la: The hill-streamlet found with eels; Balapitiya division, Galle district. Aanda: eel (Sinhala); Paantha'l: snake (Tamil, Malayalam, DED 4082)

Gal-do'la: The rocky or stony hill-streamlet; Hataraliyadda division, Kandy district

Do'la-pihilla: The spout or gutter for the hill-streamlet; Pujapitiya division, Kandy district. Pihilla, Peella: spout, gutter (Sinhala): Peeli: (Tamil, DED 4222, 4226)

Thung-do'la: The three hill-streams; Walallavita division, Kalutara district

Yata-do'la-watta: The garden or grove of the lower hill-streamlet; Mathugama division, Kalutara district

Guru-do'la: The reddish hill-streamlet; Mathugama division, Kalutara district

Kæku'laa-do'la: The hill-streamlet in the locality of Kæku'naa trees, or a kind or ferns; Ingiriya division, Kalutara district. Kækulu = Kæku'na-gas (Sorata), Canarium zeylanicum, peculiar to the island; Kækilla: small thicket, fern;

In-do'la-mulla: probably, Hin-do'la-mulla: The corner of the small hill-streamlet; Dompe division, Gampaha district.

Do'la-heana: The shifting cultivation field at the hill-streamlet; Ja-Ela division, Gampaha district; Homagama division, Colombo district

First published: Saturday, 11 October 2014, 17:02