Except the Rev. J.S.Chandler, who remained in office only for a short period, the members of the editorial staff never visited or sent agents to the various artisans and workmen, for collecting technical terms and ascertaining their meanings and entrusted the work entirely to the Literary Associates and Honorary Referees, who were after all only honorary workers. Hence, many names of tools and instruments are not found in the Lexicon. e.g. uru-dayaram, kattiyaram, šittiyaram, p‡varam, pondaram, mu˜˜aram, mudukaram, etc., the different kinds of file used in carpentry.

     Of the terms relating to castes, sub-castes, social customs and ceremonies, children's games, plants and insects, ete., there are hundreds unknown to the Lexicon.

     The work of the Lexicon, with the exception of the Rev. J.S. Chandler, has been supervised, guided and executed by Sanskritists. The editor, Mr. Vaiyapuri Pillai, though a Tamilian, was not a genuine lover of Tamil, and an adherent of the orthodox school. His dating of Tolkƒppiyam to the early centuries of the Christian era, was in keeping with his habit of post-dating of all early Tamil classics. His definition of uriccol, iyaŠcol, tirišol and tišaiccol are wrong and misleading. He was not able to construe a simple phrase ‘vi‰ippatr†‹Šƒ’ occurring in the Tolkƒppiyar šutra.

     “Mo‰ipporu— kƒra–am vi‰ippatt†‹Šƒ (Tol.877)

     He has mis-interpreted this sutra as, “Tolkƒppiyar only says that the origin of words is beyond ascertainment”. Tolkappiyar has never said so. Vi‰ippatt†‹Šƒ means “will not be clear at a glance.” The editor has evidently ignored the modifying adverb ‘vi‰ippu’ in his interpretation. There is as much difference between t†–Šƒ and vi‰ippatt†–Šƒ as between ‘cannot talk’ and ‘cannot fluently talk’, Even at this stage, the ascertainment of the orgin of words is possible in the case of more than 50% and it must have been more so at the time of Tolkƒppiyar who seems to have flourished in the 7th century B.C.

     The origin of pudalai, ‘snake-gourd’, which is erroneously derived from pa—†likƒ, by reverse process, is as follows: