Today's Tamil word - 10th May 2020 - விடுதி

Hotel - விடுதி
Cafe - அருந்தகம்

Hotel has today become a common word even in remote villages of Tamil Nadu. TN Govt has a law which has made it compulsory to write the name boards of shops/offices in Tamil also. Even then it is written as XYZ ஓட்டல் and not as விடுதி or உணவகம் (restaurant). This is how deep this word has gone into the minds of Tamil people.

அருந்தகம் - we have a native word for today's cafes also. It used to be the word for the road corner tea/coffee shops back in those days. அருந்து, like குடி, is the tamil word for the verb - to drink. அகம் has two meanings - inside/within and place/land. In this context, அகம் means place.

I wish there would be a day when words like விடுதி and அருந்தகம், which used to be common once, come back to life again. I don't believe in the argument that these words are not very stylish and hence cannot be used in the name boards of shops; trends/styles are something that is created and popularised, it only needs repeated mentions/hearings to get used to.

அண. நாகப்பன்

Today's Tamil word - 9th May 2020 - குப்பி

Bottle (English)

Tamil words : குப்பி, புட்டி, குடுவை

Bottle is one of the many words like bus, pen, tea, etc where English words have replaced the Tamil words after the British rule.

குடுவை means a vessel/container with a narrow mouth. குப்பி and புட்டி are the exact words for Bottle in Tamil.

It has now become very difficult for us to speak Tamil without these English words (or any other language words). We have come to accept words like 'Bottle' to be part of Tamil now.

Wish we could consciously start using குப்பி and புட்டி more often. It has taken over a hundred years for English to replace commonly used Tamil words for items/things. It might take another hundred years of consciously using the likes of குப்பி instead of bottle to reverse this. But unless we do so, as they say, தமிழ் இனி மெல்லச் சாகும்.

அண. நாகப்பன்

Today's Tamil word - 8th May 2020 - பட்டறிவு

Experience: அனுபவம்

Original Tamil word: பட்டறிவு, நுகர்வு

The root word - படு means, to undergo. Even in our conversations today we use this: Eg. ரொம்ப சந்தோஷ/கஷ்ட பட போறான்.

பட்டறிவு = படு + அறிவு: translates to knowing by undergoing, which is experiencing.

The other word நுகர்வு is also used today, to denote a consumer (நுகர்வோர்) and consumerism, which is in the context of consumer experience. நுகர்வு is the opposite of துறவு. If you consume only that you basically need, you are said to live a life closer to துறவு!

துறவு is not to be estranged towards others and live like a sage. Going by the literal meaning of the word in Tamil, it only means leading a simple life by reducing unnecessary desires. Hence it is the opposite of நுகர்வு, which means to experience things.

அண. நாகப்பன்

Today's Tamil word - 7th May 2020 - முறைகேடு

Unfair/Unreasonable/Unjust - அநியாயம் (Sanskrit)

Original Tamil words  - முறைகேடு/முறையின்மை/நடுவின்மை

Related word:

Justice - நீதி (Sanskrit)

Original Tamil words:
முறை, நெறி, நாணயம்

Any word with 'அ' prefix attached to another word to make it the opposite, should have come from Sanskrit. Examples: நியாயம் and அநியாயம், நீதி and அநீதி etc.

If you notice from the above, Tamil has the word நடுவின்மை for unjust and நடுநிலை for just, which mean being unbiased or being at the centre, while taking decisions. On a contrast, நீதி in Sanskrit means good or moral conduct/behaviour. Two different meanings in two different languages.

These nuances for the same word from one language to the other, is what explains the subtle differences in its originating cultures.

Another point to be noted is how the word நாணயம் not only means being fair/just but also is the Tamil word for currency (coins). This is the case to essentially convey that, any transaction between people, for which currency is the bedrock of, must be done in a fair way to all those involved in it.

அண. நாகப்பன்

Today's Tamil word - 6th May 2020 - காட்டம்

Difficult - கஷ்டம்/கடினம்

Original Tamil word - காட்டம்

It is an interesting word. The Tamil word காட்டம் is what went to Sanskrit and became கஷ்டம் in the first place.

காட்டம் comes from the Tamil root word கடு which means agony/pain. You would have heard the usage of the word கடுப்பு in our everyday conversations' of today (கடுப்பு ஆனான்; உடம்பு கடுத்தது).

Today, sometimes காட்டம் is used in the meaning of strong/hot (இன்றைக்கு வெயில் காட்டமாக இருக்கிறது).

But the original Tamil meaning of காட்டம் - 'pain/agony due to difficulty' has been lost after it gave birth to the word கஷ்டம் in Sanskrit and later became கடினம் when it came back into Tamil due to Sanskrit's religious influence.

As time went by, கஷ்டம்/கடினம் became the more frequently word used for 'difficulty' in Tamil, thereby resulting in making the derived meaning (hot/strong) for காட்டம் more relevant today than its original meaning.

அண. நாகப்பன்

Today's Tamil word - 5th May 2020 - சோறு

Boiled Rice - சாதம் (Sanskrit)

Original Tamil word - சோறு

When the word to denote the staple food of a culture is almost replaced, it just shows the level of contamination of the language, especially amongst the urban population.

The word சோறு is still in use in the rural lands quite liberally. Food and diet are a big part of a culture. Sangam literatures like நற்றினை, புறநானூறு, அகநானூறு, பதிற்றுப்பத்து, நாற்றுப்படை, mention in various places the cooking methods and food habits of the Tamils. We have had the habit of eating rice millets, lentils, tamarind pulp, fish and various meat in a predominately non-vegetarian diet except in the 'Marutham' (agri land) region. The very popular Chettinad cuisine retains most of these traits even today.

This article (link attached), which talks about the food habits of ancient Tamils, is an interesting read.
What ancient Tamils' ate?

அண. நாகப்பன்

Today's Tamil word - 4th May 2020 - புவி

Earth - பூமி (from Sanskrit/Pali)

Original Tamil word - புவி

The usage of the word பூமி cannot be found in Tamil before the Bhakti movement of the medieval period (7th century to 15th century CE). The Tamil language underwent a sea change during this period, especially in its cultural vocabulary due to this imposition of religion by the rulers.

More recently we have witnessed the influence of English on the common Tamil we all speak. The present form of Tamil is a result of such imperialisms.

The word புவி has, luckily still, been kept alive due to its reference in gravity. We say புவியீர்ப்பு for Gravity - with புவி meaning Earth and ஈர்ப்பு meaning attractiveness.

It just goes to show how a word can only be kept alive by keeping it in common use. These posts are an attempt to do just that.

அண. நாகப்பன்