Question on Patanjali

[Chandan Raghava Narayan]

One "folk" etymology my dad told me once was that pA.nini was once
meditating under a tree, and a snake fell into his hands. Hence pat- (to
fall) and anjali- (in pA.nni's hands). I guess this has to do with the
common association of patanjali with snakes...
Prof. Aklujkar gave an interesting paper on the history of mahAbhaSya
studies in India at the Skt. conference in B'lore. In it he mentioned
something about folk etymologies of "patanjali". Hopefully he can give you
a better answer.

Cheers!
Chandan Narayan