Etymology

[Periannan Chandrasekaran]

--- Swaminathan Madhuresan <smadhuresan at YAHOO.COM> wrote:
>  Pl. look into DEDR, item on muTTi etc., Also, use Online Tamil Lexicon
> on muTTu & the verb, muTTu-tal, muTT*, May help.

muSTANDa
There is an entry in DEDR #4929 that says:
Ta. muTTattan2am = ignorance, stupidity; muTTan = dunce;
Ta. muTTATTam = stupidity, pertinacity or conceit  arising from ignorance.
Ma. muTTan2 = a stout, obstinate, stupid person.

It is very well attested that Dravidian -TT- often morphs into -NT-
(which as is well known is actually pronounced as -ND-):
For a few concrete attested examples
cf.
DEDR # 3221:
Ta. tiTTu = rising ground, bank. elevation, hillock
Ma. tiNDU = earthern wall,, bank, shoal
Ka. diTTu = hillcok; diNDu = hillock.

DEDR #4939:
lists both Ta. muTTai and Ta. muNDai = egg/ovum

kaTTi -> kaNDu (lump as in kaRkaNDu = hard candy)
DEDR #1148:Ta. kaTTi = clod, lump...
Ma. kaTTa = lump;
kaTTi = what is condensed, solid, ingot
kaNDi = lump, concretion

Hence one may safely conclude that Dr. muTTANDa- > muSTANDa.

That I hope satisfies the etymology of muSTANDa.


In general Dravidian root muTT- is rich in the senses of
stoutness, bulkiness, emptiness, hindrance etc.

One may also consider the following Dravidian words which coney a sense of
sturdiness/robustness:
DEDR #4932: muTTu = (verb) to butt, oppose, meet, assault, attack, fight.
             =(noun) battering, butting;
   Ma. muTTi = hammer

DEDR #4933 muTTu = to hinder, be hindered, prevented
 n. hindrance, obstacle, impediment, prop, support


The DEDR indirectly states that muSTi is a hypersanskritism of the Dravidian
muTTi.

The Cologne Tamil Lexicon:
muTTi
otl muTTi muTTi 02 1. fist; 2. blow with the fist; 3. a gesture with one hand
in which
the four fingers are closed tightly and the thumb is pressed over them,
 one of 33 in2aiya1-vin6aikkai , q.v.; 4. handful; 5. alms;
6. a mode of holding a weapon; 7. art of discovering anything concealed
in the closed hand, one of ar6upattuna1lu-kalai , q.v.; 8. small earthen pot;
9. a standard weight=1 palam ; 10. quantity consisting of 20 kaval2i ;
11. oblation of ball of rice deposited on the boundary line of a village
in a festival; 12. jaggery; 13. broken brick



DEDR entry #4935 lists muTTu:
Ta. = knee, elbow, knuckle
Ma. knob, joint or knot of cane or bamboo
...
That entry cross references DEDR #4919 muTagku
= (verb) to contract, become lame or maimed, bend, be spoiled.

DEDR #4932: muTTu = (verb) to butt, oppose, meet, assault, attack, fight.
             =(noun) battering, butting;
   Ma. muTTi = hammer


>
...> studies. Hope Indologists will help increase in academic Dravidology
> pursuits.
> It is within their power and budgets.
>
> Regards,
> SM
>

I sure hope so too.

>
> --- Ruth Laila Schmidt <r.l.schmidt at EAST.UIO.NO> wrote:
> > Dear members of the list,
> >
> > Does someone have an etymology for Hindi-urdu mushTanDa ( ~ musTanDa),
> > 'sturdy, robust'? McGregor gives musTanDa with no etymology; Platts gives
> > mushTanDa tracing it back to Skt. muZTi, 'fist'. Turner, the usual arbiter
> > of such matters, is silent.
> >
> > With best wishes,
> >
> > Ruth Schmidt
> >
> >
> > ***********************************************
> > Ruth Laila Schmidt
> > Dept of East European and Oriental Studies
> > University of Oslo
> > P.O. Box 1030 Blindern
> > N-0315 Oslo, Norway
> > Phone: (47) 22 85 55 86
> > Fax: (47) 22 85 41 40
> > Email: r.l.schmidt at east.uio.no
> >
>


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