Know the Etymology: 409
Place Name of the Day: Wednesday, 15 July 2015

Ha'lu-apullana-wæwa

ஹளு அ[ப்]புல்லன வெ[æ]வ
Haḷu-apullana-wæwa

Ha'lu+apullana+wæwa

The tank where washermen beat (wash) clothes; or the tank where clothes are beaten (for washing)

Ha'lu: 1

= Rajakayaa: washerman (up-country Sinhala, Sorata); 2. = Sa'lu, Sa'luwa: cloth, shawl, dress, (Sinhala); Saalu: a kind of cloth (Sanskrit, CDIAL 13372); Cheelai, Cheerai, Chealai: cloth, garment, woman's cloth (Tamil, DED 2629); Chaalvai: shawl (Tamil, late usage, MTL); Cha'lampam: a kind of dress (Tamil, literary, Oddakkooththar, 5: 369); S'aata: strip of cloth (Sanskrit, CDIAL 12381); garment, cloth (Pali, CDIAL 12381); Saadaya, Saaliaa: garment (Prakrit, CDIAL 12381); Chaddai: garment (Tamil, usage comes by 12 century CE); Shaal: shawl (Persian, Hindi, Hobson Jobson traces the Anglo Indian word shawl to Sanskrit); Chalikan, Chaaliyan: weaver (Tamil, DED 2475); Saaliya: weaver (Kannada, DED 2475); Saale: weaver (Telugu, DED 2475); Saali: weaver (Sinhala); probably from Chaal: furrow in ploughing, track of a sower (Tamil, DED 2471); Saal: a continuous line, furrow (Kannada, DED 2471); Saalu: line, row, furrow (Tulu, DED 2471); which may also be the root for the Chaali meaning paddy; or Chaal: fitting (DED 2470) Chaar: joining, uniting (DED 2460)

Apullanawaa

to strike, to beat, used of washing clothes by beating them against a stone (Sinhala); Apullannaa: washerman (Sinhala); Appa'lisu: to strike against, stroke, flap, slap (Kannada, DED 157); Appa'lipuni: to strike anything with the open hand, squash (Tulu, DED 157); Appa'lincu: to slap (Telugu, DED 157); Appu: to stick with the hand (Tamil, DED 157)

The word Ha'lu in Udarata (up-country) Sinhala means a washerman (Sorata Thera). The word, an equivalent of Sa'lu/ Sa'luwa in Sinhala (by S/ H interchange), also means cloth, shawl or dress. That explains the meaning washerman acquired by the word Ha'lu.

Ha'lu/ Sa'lu meaning cloth is probably related to S'ataka in Sanskrit meaning a strip of cloth (CDIAL 12381). Hobson jobson traces the etymology of shawl in Anglo Indian and Shaal in Persian and Hindi to Sanskrit. But the Sanskrit usage is not traced to very early literature. Related cognates in Tamil are also of very late usage. However, there is a root Chaal/ Saal in Dravidian that is related to the identity of weavers (DED 2475, see box).

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Apullanawaa in Sinhala, meaning to strike or beat, is often used in the context of the traditional way of washing clothes by beating them against a stone slab. Deriving from that, Apullannaa means a washerman in Sinhala.

The closest Dravidian cognates are Appa'lisu, Appa'lipuni and Appa'lincu, respectively in Kannada, Tulu and Telugu, meaning to strike against, while Tamil has the root Appu used in a related sense of meaning (DED 157).

See earlier columns for Wæwa meaning a tank. In the past, some tanks were reserved for the use of washermen.

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Ha'lu-apullana-wæwa is a place in Dambulla division of Matale district.

First published: Wednesday, 15 July 2015, 13:25