[INDOLOGY] Etymology of Skt. nilaya

Sat Oct 24 01:44:53 UTC 2020

Add to this ālaya-. All of this suggests a Sanskrit-based account.

Mayrhofer (1992) has a root lay- ‘sich schmiegen, anhaften’, i.e. ‘nestle, stick to’, and cites forms like perf. lilye, layāṁ cakre, aor. (ny)áleṣṭa, and ta-participle ní-līna- ‘versteckt, sich an etwas heftend’ = ‘hidden, sticking to something’. Further, he compares áleṣṭa to Hittite ú-li-iš-ta ‘hid himself’, PIE root probably *leyH- ‘to hide oneself’. He is less certain about connecting pra-laya-, vi-līyate, suggesting that these forms may be built on an originally different [but possibly homophonous] root meaning ‘cease, dwindle, fade away’.

So, yes, a Dravidian origin does not seem likely.

All the best,

Hans Henrich Hock

On 23 Oct2020, at 18:13, Madhav Deshpande via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info<mailto:indology at list.indology.info>> wrote:

As for Sanskrit nilaya, we not only have the noun nilaya, but the verb ni+līyate, which is productively used in Sanskrit, along with words like nilīna, a participle. The verb līyate can occur by itself, with derivatives like laya and līna, and also with other preverbs, e.g. pra-līyate, with derivatives like pralaya and pralīna. Given this state of Sanskrit usage, how would one deal with the suggested Dravidian etymology?

Madhav M. Deshpande
Professor Emeritus, Sanskrit and Linguistics
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Senior Fellow, Oxford Center for Hindu Studies

[Residence: Campbell, California, USA]

On Fri, Oct 23, 2020 at 3:23 PM Sudalaimuthu Palaniappan via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info<mailto:indology at list.indology.info>> wrote:
Dear Indologists,

CDIAL 7407 shows the following entry for Skt. nilaya showing an IA etymology.
nilaya m. ʻ den, lair, home ʼ MBh. [√lī1]
Pa. nilaya -- m. ʻ dwelling, lair, nest ʼ; Pk. ṇilaya -- m. ʻ house, resting -- place ʼ; OB. nilaa ʻ abode ʼ ODBL 912; Si. nila ʻ house ʼ.

On the other hand, DEDR 3675 shows the following for *nil-*.
Ta. nil (nirp-, niṉṟ-) to stand, stop, halt, be steadfast, stay, continue, cease, be stopped, remain, wait, delay;… nilai standing, staying, firmness, stability, permanence, condition, state, place, stopping place, residence, depth of water allowing one to stand in, usage, custom;… Ka. nil (nilt-/ nind-), nilu, nillu to stand still, stand, stand up, stop, stay, wait, remain, be left, last, remain fixed, cease, rest, endure; … nele standing, standing place, abode, place, basis, firmness, certainty, certain knowledge;… Koḍ. nill- (nipp-, nind-) to stand; nele halting place…  Te. nilucu to stand, rise, get up, last, continue, remain, exist, stop, stay, halt, cease, endure, be preserved or saved, survive;… nela place; nela konu to become firm, stay, be, stand; (K.) … Kur. ilnā (ilcas/ illas) to get up, rise to one's feet; ijnā (ijjas) to be stationary in an upright position, rise to one's feet, stand on end, stop, halt, pause, maintain a fixed or steady attitude, persist, persevere; ildnā, ilda'ānā, ilta'ānā, ijta'ānā to erect, set up, rest against. Malt. ile (ij-) to stand; ilde to make to stand. ? Cf. 3689 Kui nīm ba. DED(S) 3043.

It looks like Skt. nilaya is a borrowing from Dravidian.

For comparison, see DEDR 4742 with the following entries for Ta. malai and its cognates.

Ta. malai hill, mountain. Ma. mala mountain, raised land, hill-land. Ko. mal im buffaloes of the Nilgiri tribes (i.e. mountain buffaloes); mal a·ṛ high downs on western half of Nilgiri plateau. To. mas̱ o·ṛ id; mal the mountains (Nilgiris as opposed to the plains). Ka. male mountain, forest; (PBh.) malepar chieftains of mountainous regions. Koḍ. male thick jungle land, cardamom plantation in jungle on mountain-side. Tu. malè forest, hill overgrown with forest. Te. mala mountain. Kol. ma·le, (Haig) mālē hill. Pa. malaŋg forest. ? Ga. (Oll.) mare (pl. marel) hillock; (S.) māre (pl. mārel) hill. Br. mash hill, mountain. / Cf. Skt. malaya- mountain range on the east of Malabar, the western Ghāts; garden, celestial grove; ? māla- forest or wood near a village; ? mālaka- wood near a village. DED 3882.

A Concise Etymological Dictionary of 1956 by Manfred Mayrhofer gives a Dravidian origin for Skt. Malaya.

The same process that operated in the formation of Skt. malaya seems to have operated in the case of Skt. nilaya (< Dr. *nil-.)

How did Manfred Mayrhofer explain Skt. nilaya in his later etymological dictionary?

Thank you in advance.

Regards,
S. Palaniappan

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