Indian Antiquary Vol 59

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, S Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarka
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 259

DECEMBER, 1930 ]
DRAVIDIC MISCELLANY
233
A set of variants of vel : 8 pel, pen, came to have the meaning of desire'; pen (woman) in the South and Kurukh pel (woman), pelló (female child) should be traced to pe! (desire). By the semantic process of irradiation, pe!, per (-! and -n being related) came to signify the object of 'ardent desire,' viz., woman. Initial v- has probably changed to p- [of. vayi, bayi, pasi (suffering, pain, hunger)] in paidal (suffering); vel produced also the verb vél or vey with the specific meaning 'to desire ardently':
Tamil ven (to desire, ask, etc.). Tamil-Mal vel (to desire to marry, to marry). Kann. beku (<belku), bédd (negative of beku). Kurukh bedd (to desire), benj (to marry). Kui benda, betka (to incite, etc.).
Tuļu bodu (to desire). bôdu (desire). [In Tulu an initial bilabial often changes original front vowels into the dorsal u or o.]
vél, as a noun, has the meanings : "favour,'desire,' offerings,' etc., in Tamil. Southern vétfai, eto., (hunting) is also from ve! (to desire), having acquired its meaning by prostemy or restriction.
It is worthy of note that the figurative meanings of ve and its formatives are very conspicuous in the Tamil classics ; Kural for instance, has vengolan (@ stever tyrant), venduppu (a -Jouy-hot anger), degulu (anger), veru vanda (causing fear), etc. The meaning of 'ardent desire' expressed in the figurative use of vél, etc. (by the process of meteosemy) seems to have been developed at a very early stage, since most of the Dravidian dialects possess forms with this meaning.
TABLE OF DRAVIDIAN DERIVATIVE FORMS BASED ON VA (HEAT, LIGHT).
vá, vce
[+-!]=ve
[+-?]=vey
[+-r]=var
[+gu]=véguli
(1)
ve vai
(1) vel (that which has · heat,” light,' etc.)
ve! (whiteness, light, eto.)
veli (outside)
ve! (to desire ardently, etc.) ven
venmai, vel uppu, eto. [Tamil] veliccam, ve!uppu, eto. Malayalam) ve!li, bolli, billi, etc.
vendu [Tamil]
pe! (desire) bê! [Kann.] bend [Kurukh]
per (woman) benda (Ki]
vadek- (Gôndi] [cf. also Tam.-Mal. ve! (to marry), Kurukh benj
(to marry)]
8 The change of v- to p- is a probable ancient change. Vide infra for analogies,