Page:The history of the Bengali language (1920).pdf/268

246 well-rooted in the Tamil speech and they are there in the company of many words derived from their living roots. For similar reasons we may say, that নিমই (appearing some times as ইমই) signifying eye-lid, is the progenitor of the Sanskrit word নিমিষ (twinkling of the eye), and বল (to surround) is the root for the Sanskrit word বলয়; the very form বালা, a bangle or a bracelet, which is in use in Bengali is met with in the Dravidian language. We note again the origin of নারিকেল which though unknown in Vedic, has been a fruit of great importance with the Aryans. Kel is the word for it in the Kerala country; the first portion of the Aryan form of the word does not convey any meaning, and so I suppose that when the Aryans inquired of the name of cocoanut in the Western portion of the Dravidian country, the vendors gave the name nàl (good) kel in response and hence নারিকেল became the name of the fruit. The Sanskrit word কাণ for অন্ধ does not also come out of a Sanskrit root, while we get কণ (eye) as a genuine Dravidian word; it is the defect of this কণ which has no doubt been expressed by কাণ in Sanskrit. We may notice along with it that as a synonym of the word বধির (বহের, বহেরা and বয়রা in Prākṛta and in Vernaculars), we use the word কালা which also seems to be derived from 'Kel,' to hear. It should be generally remembered that a very familiar object or idea is always expressed in all languages by one word only, and an independent synonym of such a word (not a word expressive of the character or quality of the object or idea), cannot but be suspected to have come from a foreign source; for