An etymology

[Madhav Deshpande]

VYAKARAN: South Asian Languages and Linguistics Net
Editors:  Tej K. Bhatia, Syracuse University, New York
          John Peterson, University of Munich, Germany
Details:  Send email to listserv at listserv.syr.edu and say: INFO VYAKARAN
Subscribe:Send email to listserv at listserv.syr.edu and say:
          SUBSCRIBE VYAKARAN FIRST_NAME LAST_NAME
          (Substitute your real name for first_name last_name)
Archives: http://listserv.syr.edu

on 4/18/01 8:47 AM, Michael Witzel at witzel at FAS.HARVARD.EDU wrote:

> VYAKARAN: South Asian Languages and Linguistics Net
> Editors:  Tej K. Bhatia, Syracuse University, New York
> John Peterson, University of Munich, Germany
> Details:  Send email to listserv at listserv.syr.edu and say: INFO VYAKARAN
> Subscribe:Send email to listserv at listserv.syr.edu and say:
> SUBSCRIBE VYAKARAN FIRST_NAME LAST_NAME
> (Substitute your real name for first_name last_name)
> Archives: http://listserv.syr.edu
>
> NB: for all these words see RL Turner,  Comp. Dict. of the IA lang.s no.
> 8269, where he derives them from OIA *putrala , Pkt. puttali ...
>
> Found from Kashmiri (~~~ potalu) to Sinhala (~~ petala)  (I cannot
> reproduce the diacritics....)
> So maybe not from Dravidian, but from  putra/putrii 'son/daughter' etc. in
> Skt.
> Turner  also compares semantic development of Ved. kaniinakaa 'little one'
>> pupil in the eye,  puppet'
>
> Best wishes, MW>
>
>
>>>
>>> In Panjabi, putlii (long i), means both 'puppet' and
>>> 'pupil of the eye'.
>>>
>>> Elena Bashir, SALC
>>> The University of Chicago
>>
>> In Hindi too!
>>
>> Ghanshyam Sharma
>> University  of Venice
>
> ========================================================
> Michael Witzel
> Department of Sanskrit & Indian Studies, Harvard University
> 2 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge MA 02138, USA
>
> ph. 1- 617-496 2990 (also messages)
> home page:  http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/mwpage.htm
>
> Elect. Journ. of Vedic Studies:  http://www1.shore.net/~india/ejvs


The connection with the Skt word putraka- must be looked into.  Consider
Kumaarasdambhava verse 1.29 where Paarvatii as a young girl is described as
playing with balls and dolls:  kandukai.h k.rtrima-putrakaiz ca.  The word
k.rtrima-putraka "artificial son" refers to a doll.

In Marathi, there is the word putaLi (with retroflex L) for a doll, but the
more common word is baahulii (colloquially pronounced as bhaavlii).

                                    Madhav Deshpande