Know the Etymology: 381
Place Name of the Day: Thursday, 04 December 2014

Goanu-mæru-wæwa

கோ₃னு மெ[æ]ரு வெ[æ]வ
Gōnu-mæru-væva

Goanu+mæru+wæwa

The tank where elks were killed

Goa'naa	(singular), Goannu, Goanun (plural), Goana-muwaa: elk, sambur deer, Rusa aristotelis (Sinhala); Goa'na, Goana: elk, also a small tree (Sinhala, Sorata); Ko'naku: to jump, leap (Kannada, DED 1863); Ku'ni: to move in a hopping, skipping or jumping manner, dance (Kannada, DED 1863); Ko'ni: to dance (Kannada, Telugu, DED 1863); Ko'ny: calf or other animal frisks (Kota, DED 1863); Kuni: to dance (Tamil, DED 1863); Kon: fear (Tamil, DED 2173); Konku: to be timid or shy, fear, hesitate (Telugu, DED 2173)
Go'naa	also Goa'na: bull, ox, bullock (Sinhala); Go'ni: Feminine form of Go'naa (Sinhala); Gon: (plural of Go'naa) ox, bullock, “Gawayaa” (Sinhala, Sorata): Go'ne: male buffalo (Tulu, DED 2212); Ko'ne: male buffalo (Irular dialect of Tamil, DED 2212); Koa'na: male buffalo (Kannada, DED 2212); Ko'nti: insubordinate, naughty person or animal (Tamil, DED 2079); a stray cow (Malayalam, DED 2079); Goa'na: bull (Sanskrit, CDIAL 4274); Goa'na: ox (Pali, CDIAL 4274); Goa'naka: wild bull (Pali, CDIAL 4274); See column on Marai-kuththi.
Goana	also Goa'na: a small tree, also the animal elk (Sinhala, Sorata); Gonna: a tree, Poruwa-malla or Wal-mædiriya, Diospyros insignis (Sinhala); In Tamil the tree is identified by some as Podduth-thuvarai; Ka'nai: Cylindrical or globular shape (Tamil, DED 1168); Ka'na: Roller of mills, the cylindrical wood of an oil-press (Malayalam, DED 1168); Ka'ne: Heavy wooden roller which stands upright in the mortar of an oil-mill, pair of such rollers used for a sugar-mill (Kannada, DED 1168); Ka'nai: stockiness (Tamil, Changkam Diction); Shin, forearm, main stem, stick, arrow, wooden handle (Tamil, DED 1166); Ka'naiyam, Ka'naiya-maram: A heavy log used as crossbar to gates of forts etc.; Ka'naiyam: forest of protective trees around a fort (Tamil);
Mæruwaa	(verb) killed, slain (Sinhala); Ma'ralu: (verb) to kill (Tamil, DED 4763); Ma'ram: killing, murder, Yama (Tamil, DED 4763); Ma'ral: death (Tamil, Malayalam, DED 4763); Ma'ravan: hunter, warrior (Tamil, DED 4763); Ma'rali: Yama (Tamil, DED 4763); Maa'ru: be destroyed, perish (Telugu, DED 4834); Maa'rucu, Maarcu: to kill, destroy (Telugu, DED 4834); Mara'nawaa: to kill (Sinhala); Maruwaa: death personified (Sinhala); Maara'na: killing (Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit, CDIAL 10065); Mara: death (Sanskrit, CDIAL 9867);

The word forms Goa'na, Goana, Goa'naa, Goannu, Goanun etc., with the long vowel Goa, mean elk/ elks in Sinhala. The Ceylon elk or sambur deer that is widely found in the jungles of the island is zoologically called Rusa aristotelis.

Go'naa, Go'ni and Gon with a short vowel are related to bull, ox or bullock in Sinhala. Sometimes Goa'na also mean a bull, ox or bullock in Sinhala (Clough).

The etymology of the first set of words meaning elk, could probably be explained through a typical attribute of the animal and relevant close cognates, Ko'ni, Ku'ni and Ko'naku found in Kannada/ Dravidian, meaning to jump, dance and to move in a hopping or jumping manner (DED 1863). Related word in old Tamil is Kuni, meaning to dance. The word Ko'ny (DED 1863) in the Kota language of Western Ghats is another Dravidian cognate that is specifically used for animal frisk (running and jumping in a lively and happy way).

Another etymological possibility of the Sinhala words for elk is their relationship with the set of words Go'naa, Go'ni and Gon meaning a bull, ox or bullock. The words for elk are used for wild cow, bison, ox and buffalo in Tamil too (see column on Marai-kuththi).

The Sinhala words Go'naa, Go'ni and Gon meaning bull, ox or bullock have cognates both in Dravidian and Indo-Aryan. See box above.

According to Sorata's Sinhala dictionary, Goana and Goa'na also mean a small tree. Clough's dictionary equates the word Gonna in Sinhala with Poruwa-malla or Wal-mædiriya, which is the tree Diospyros insignis.

At least some of the place names having the prefixes Goana, Goanaa and Gon seem to be related to the tree and not to elk. See related place names.

Mæru is probably a shortened form of Mæruwaa, meaning killed or slain.

Both in Tamil and Sinhala, many place names originating from hunt or death of animals could be found in the dry zone jungles. Place names related to hunting or killing of elks are found in Tamil also. (See column on Marai-kuththi, Marai-e'rignchaan-ku'lam).

Etymology of Mæruwaa could be traced to both Dravidian and Indo-Aryan (see box above)

See earlier columns on the etymology of Wæwa meaning a tank or reservoir.

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Goanu-mæru-wæwa is a place in Kahatagas-digiliya division of Anuradhapura district

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Some related place names:

Goanu-mæriyaawa: Kebithigollewa division, Anuradhapura district

Goana-heana: Mahara division, Gampaha district

Goana-wala: Biyagama division, Gampaha district; Medadumbara division, Kandy district; Kundasale division, Kandy district;

Goanaa-wala: Ambagamuwa division, Nuwara Eliya district

Goanaa-gama: Kundasale division, Kandy district; Maspotha division, Kurunegala district

Goana-doowa: Kalutara division, Kalutara district

Goani-goda: Harispattuwa division, Kandy district; Rideegama division, Kurunegala district. Goan-ala: a sort of yam or country potato (Sinhala); Goana-wæl: a plant peculiar to the island, Ancistrocladus Vahlii (Sinhala); Goani, Goa'ni: sack, jute bag, gunny bag (Sinhala); Koa'ni: sack made of jute (Tamil, DED); Goa'ni: sack (Sanskrit, CDIAL 4275, etymology traced to Dravidian)

Goanang-goda: Dethota division, Kandy district

Gon-deniya: Yatinuwara division, Kandy district; Weeraketiya division, Hambantota district

Goana-deniya: Rideegama division, Kurunegala district

Goana-de'niya-gama: Palagala division, Anuradhapura district

Goana-gal-deniya: Mawathagama division, Kurunegala district

Goana-kæle: Hanguranketha division, Nuwara Eliya district

Gona-pitiya: Hanguranketha division, Nuwara Eliya district

Goanala-goda: Nagoda division, Galle district

Goanaa-peenu-wala: Ambalangoda division, Galle district. Peena: (adjective) fat, bulky, large, corpulent, full, complete (Sinhala); Pa'nai: thickness, bigness (Tamil, DED 3894)

Goana-gamuwa: Thissamaharama division, Hambantota district; Yatiyanthota division, Kegalle district

Gon-noruwa: Hambantota division, Hambantota district

Gonanne-goda: Mahaoya division, Ampaa'rai district

Gonaa-golla: Uhana division, Ampaa'rai district

Goana-mada: Rideegama division, Kurunegala district

Goanawa: Weerambugedra division, Kurunegala district

Gonulla: Gon+ulla: Pannala division, Kurunegala district

Goana-vila: Dankotuwa division, Puththa'lam district

Goanahath-denaawa: probably, the place where bullocks are given (may be related to a caravan route passing through the place); Kebithigollewa division, Anuradhapura district

Goa'na-pathiraawa: The zone of elks; or Goa'na+pathira+araawa: The newly developed cultivation field in the zone of elks; Ipaogama division, Anuradhapura district. Patara: zone, circle (Sinhala)

Goana-thalaawa: Madulla division, Moneragala district

Goana-gang-Aara: Buttala division, Moneragala district

Goana-kumbura: Pelmadulla division, Ratnapura district

Goana-gaha: Gampaha division, Gampaha district

Goana-pura: Baddegama division, Galle district

Goa'na-gala: Passara division, Badulla district

Goana-gala: Uhana division, Ampaa'rai district; Ruwanwella division, Kegalle district

Goanaa-gala: Mawathagama division, Kurunegala district

Goanaaramba: Goana+aaramba: Ruwanwella division, Kegalle district. Aaramba=Aaraama: grove (Sinhala)

Goana-gal-de'niya: Mawathagama division, Kurunegala district

Goana-gala-pura: Bentota division, Galle district

First published: Thursday, 04 December 2014, 12:30