[INDOLOGY] Etymology of Skt. nilaya

Madhav Deshpande mmdesh at umich.edu
Sat Oct 24 01:53:32 UTC 2020


Add to this, *vilaya, vilīyate, vilīna *etc.

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 6:45 PM Hock, Hans Henrich <hhhock at illinois.edu>
wrote:

> 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> 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> 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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