[INDOLOGY] Etymology of vetana 'wages'

[Suresh Kolichala]

Are there good reasons for considering the etymology proposed in
Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary as "perhaps a corrupted form of
*vartana*" absolutely untenable?

वेतन [L=44823] [p=0963-b
<http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MW72Scan/2014/web/webtc/servepdf.php?page=0963>
] *vetana, am,* n. (according to Uṇādi-s.
III. 150. fr. rt. 1. *vī;* perhaps a corrupted form of
*vartana)*
Indo-Aryan is not my area of expertise, but I find *vartana as *found in "
*Vartana-dāna, am,* n. the gift of means of subsistence or wages. *—
Vartana-viniyoga, as,* m. appointment or assignment of means of
subsistence, i. e. of salary, wages, &c. *— Vartanābhāva (ºna-abhº), as,* m.
want of means of subsistence, destitution." is semantically similar to *vetana
*as in "*Vetana-dāna, **am,* n. the paying of wages, hiring. *—
Vetanādāna **(ºna-adº),
am,* n. non-payment of wages."

Aren't there other examples of a > i/e in the environment of consonant
clusters in Old/Middle Indo-Aryan? Isn't it common for *vr̥tti *to
become *vitti
*in Prakrits?

Regards,
Suresh.




On Wed, Aug 10, 2016 at 7:06 AM, Dieter Gunkel <dcgunkel at gmail.com> wrote:

> You might also check
>
> Kim, Jeong-Soo. 2010. Untersuchungen zu altindischen Abstrakta und
> Adjektiven im Rigveda und Atharvaveda. Die primären a-Stämme und die
> ana-Bildungen. Bremen: Hempen,
>
> which is partly dedicated to nouns suffixed with* -ana-*. If the author
> treats *vetana-* in the book, there should be some discussion of its
> morphological composition.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Dieter
>
> On Sat, Aug 6, 2016 at 11:03 PM, Olivelle, J P <jpo at austin.utexas.edu>
> wrote:
>
>> Actually, Mayrhofer (3: 254) says “Vielleicht doch mit Mehendale” — and
>> given the *vid* etymology. The change from -d- to -t- is viewed as a NW
>> dialectical variation. He also refers to Kuiper (ZII 8, 263f) who appears
>> to derive it from *veto *with the suffix -*tana,* as Mr. Misra states.
>> There appears to be no consensus among historical linguists.
>>
>> Patrick
>>
>>
>>
>> On Aug 6, 2016, at 3:29 PM, Nityanand Misra <nmisra at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>> On 6 August 2016 at 23:56, Donald R Davis <drdj at austin.utexas.edu> wrote:
>>
>>> Dear Colleagues,
>>>
>>> M.A. Mehendale, “Some Remarks of the Language of the Original Buddhist
>>> Canon,” Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute, Vol. 17, No. 3
>>> (December 1955) suggests that the etymology of Skt. *vetana* ‘wages’ is
>>> "*vedana* ‘wealth, possessions’ from /*vid* ‘to find, to obtain, to
>>> give, etc.’ which is known since the Rgveda” (p167).
>>>
>>> Would those of you with IE expertise kindly confirm this etymology,
>>> point me elsewhere, or share your thoughts on alternative etymologies?  I
>>> have not yet been able to check Mayrhofer.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> Sounds dubious, for how the *d* of *vid* would change to *t *when
>> followed by a vowel is beyond me. Here is the authentic traditional
>> etymology:
>>
>>
>> vī gativyāptiprajanakāntyasanakhādaneṣu (DP 1048) → vīpatibhyāṃ tanan
>> (US 3.150) → vī + tanan → halantyam (A 1.3.3), tasya lopaḥ (A 1.3.9) → vī +
>> tana → sārvadhātukārdhadhātukayoḥ (A 7.3.84) → ve tana → vetana.
>>
>>
>> The Uṇādisūtra *vīpatibhyāṃ tanan* (US 3.150) ordains the suffix *tanan*
>> (of which only *tana* remains) from the root * vī
>> gativyāptiprajanakāntyasanakhādaneṣu*’ which is used in the meanings of *
>> gati* (movement), *vyāpti* (pervading), *prajana* (conception), *kānti*
>> (desire), *asana* (throwing), and * khādana* (eating). The rule
>> sārvadhātukārdhadhātukayoḥ (A 7.3.84) results in the ‘vī’ → ve
>> transformation to get ‘vetana’.
>>
>>
>> The word occurs in Amarakoṣa 2.10.38, and the various commentaries on it
>> may be consulted. Both the *Udghāṭana* and *Vyākhyāsudhā* commentaries
>> cite US 3.150 and explain the word as *vīyate anena iti vetanam*. The
>> form *vīyate* is the passive (*yaki*, or *karmaṇi*) form of the root *vī*
>> whose active (*karttari*) form is *veti*. The meaning of *vīyate anena
>> iti vetanam*, consequently, is ‘that with which [something] is obtained
>> is vetana’. Roots with the meaning ‘to go’ also have the meaning ‘to
>> obtain’ as per the maxim *ye gatyarthāste prāptyarthāḥ*.
>>
>>
>>
>>
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