பக்கம் எண் :

Introduction101

     ‘Ail’ is derived from ai, a line or row, and il, a house or place. The squirrel is called ail in Tamil, because it possesses three white stripes on its back. The ancient Tamils had always observed the most distinctive features or characteristics of things, that readily attract the attention of the spectator, and named them accordingly. Hence, the initial consonant of the Tulu cailu is only a prosthetic addition. The same principle applies to many other Dravidian words shown by Professor Burrow.

     On an ultimate analysis, it is found, that the Madras University Tamil Lexicon is solely responsible for all these errors. Even the system of transliteration of Tamil sounds adopted in the Lexicon, grossly misrepresents Tamil and misleads foreigners. Pƒmbu, the word for snake in Tamil, for instance is never pronounced ‘pƒmpu’, and ‘kodu’, to give, never ‘kou’, to sting.

      Not only Tamil and Dravidian languages, but also those of the Aryan family, furnish examples for the phenomenon of prosthetic addition of sibilants.

e.g. Tamil Aryan
  t‡–, tuam sth‡–ƒ (Skt.)
  mayir smasru (Skt.)
  nƒgam snake (MLG & E.)
             snaca (OE.)
  medu smooth (E.)
  umbar super (L.)

     The Tamil nƒgam ‘is derived from ‘nagar’, to creep.

     The English word ‘snake’ also is derived similarly from the Anglo-Saxon ‘snican’, to creep.

     Etymologization of Tamil words is no easy thing even for a native Tamil Scholar, unless he has devoted his whole life-time to the study and specialised in it.

     The term, ‘etymology’ is derived from the Greek ‘etymos’, true, and ‘logos’, a word, treatise or science, and hence, mis-derivation of any word is no etymology at all.