putra

[RM.Krishnan]

At 4/8/00 9:08:00 AM, you wrote:
>>
>>Given the long history of etymologizing the word, putra,
>>has a Dravidian origin been suggested? Tamil has
>>"putu"=new
>>"putalvan"=son, student
>>"putal"=bud
>>
>>With regards,
>>V. Iyer
>>
>
>Do the above tamil words like "putu" relate to the Skt. "pota"
>(young of a tree or animal)? cUta-pota, zAla-pota, simha-pota etc.,

There is direct word in Tamil 'pOtu' meaning 'young of an animal or a tree'. This word is in the same family of
words having a meaning 'new or young'.
>
>Another interesting aspect of "putra" is in the town name,
>pATali-putra, probably from tamil "putar/putal"=
>bush/thicket/low jungle. Any comments on pATali-putra
>(pAlibothra)=thicket of pATali flora? Placenames with -putra like
>in zala-putra/zali-putra also be considered. Lewis Rice (EI,
>no.24, p.334), " pATalika, the village in which sarvanandin made
>his copy, may be pATaliputra,  in the South Arcot District.
>The periya-purANam makes it the seat of  a large Jaina monastery.
>pANArASTra is no doubt the territory of the bANa kings."
>
The word 'putal/putar' is of course bush, a bunch of plants. In the South Arcot District in Tamil Nadu, there is a place
called pAatirip puliyUr. (this is part of the modern town of KadalUr). puliyUr is a modern currupt rendering of putiyUr
(meaning new village/town). This was also called once pATali putra in Sanskrit, paTali being the Sanskrit rendering
of  pAtiri, a flower tree. In a place where there was bush and plants (putal), the new town/village (putiyUr) could have
come up.

 The word 'putal' can also have a different ending and become  '*putan2ai' like in 'peruNai' (meaning river). There is
also a word 'puthin2A' meaning 'a kind of spinach'.

Incidentally, the English word 'botany' appears to be related in a curious way.

As per 'Bloomsbury Dictionary of Word Origins' by John Ayto,   'Botany' was derived from 'botanic', a borrowing,
either directly or via French 'botanique', of Latin 'botanicus'. The ultimate source of the word was Greek 'botani'
'(plant,pasture), a derivative of the verb boskein 'feed'.

Only in the last line, I differ. the word 'botani' appears to be cognate of '*putanai', The science of botany is the study of
plants. You get the straight meaning in Tamil also. The basic root 'putu' has a meaning of 'new' and 'young'. Attribution
of the origin to the greek word 'boskein' appears to be conceptually long winded.

With regards,
RM.Krishnan