7/23/2019 Etymology KERALA

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/etymology-kerala 1/2

EtymologyIt was Ma Huan, the Chinese traveler, who first mentioned Kochi in his books of early 15th

century !icolo Conti, the Italian traveler also talks about the "lace in his records of 1##$

%rom then on, the name a""ears in many travelogues and records of various travelers and

traders from across the globe as Cocym, Cochym, Cochin, Cochi and so on It has also been

mentioned in some records as &'ala"uri(, a )anskrit name that means small town

)ome scholars are of the o"inion it was the traders from the court of the Chinese ruler Kublai

Khan who named the "ort city, after their homeland and )ome others believe that the name is

a corru"ted version of the )anskrit word &*o )ree(, which means &"ros"erous with cows(

+ccording to one scholar, the name Kochi was derived from the word cocha, which indicates

the 'iblical term Cohen

Kochi is also believed to be derived from kaki, which means harbour in amil- from the

Malayalam word, koch.a/hi meaning &small sea( and from its earlier name Kakochi that was

 "receded by the name Kochim, used in the 0ortuguese records of the 15th century, etc )ome

still refer to the "lace as Cochin, though it is now known as Kochi

1.   KOLLAM : Once known as "kollavarsham"; Kollam is the place that introduced

the Malayalam calendar to the entire Kerala state. thus the name.

2.   PATHANAMTHITTA : The name is coined from Malayalam words "pathanam"

and "thitta". athannamthitta means a !roup of ten families settled on the anks of a

river # $iver %chenkovil &.

'.   ERNAKULAM : (rnakulam derives its name from a Tamil word

"(rayanarkulam" or ")ord *hiva+s aode"

,.   THRISSUR  : the name is derived from "Thrissivaperur" meanin! "Town of

sacred *hiva"

-.   WAYANAD : ayanad is derived from words "vayal" #paddy& and "naad" #land&.

 %out 2/120 s kms of area in this district is covered in paddy fields.

6. MUNNAR: Munnar interprets as three rivers3. This refers to

the strate!ic location of hill station at the confluence of '

rivers; Madhurau4ha/ 5allathanni and Kundaly 7. Devikulam: According to legend, the goddess Sita Devi of the Ramayana epic bathed in

the beautiful Devikulam lake waters surrounded by lush, green hills, now named Sita

Devi Lake. The lake draws tourists not only because of its sacredness but also for the

curative powers of its mineral waters. ost of the inhabitants in this town speak

alayalam and Tamil.

7/23/2019 Etymology KERALA

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/etymology-kerala 2/2

8. Thirumullavaram: The place got its name from !Thirumallanmar!, the bodyguards of the

erstwhile "ing of Travancore # Sri arthanda $arma. Thirumullavarum, because of its

scenic beauty, was one of the place where the "ing used to spend his leisure time.

 Another etymology says that, this place got the name in !T%&'T%A()*A!. S''T%A

D'$+ brought the )LLA-- which ware in his hair,due to gave signale for

Sreerama,by the time of ourny to Lanka by )S%A"A $+A/A under &avana0scoustody.The )LLA-- drop this place. So this place got T%+&))LLA$A&A

9. PANDALAM: +t is believed that the andya kings of Tamil /adu fled to andalam in the

face of an attack from 1holas234 and settled there in the land they bought from "aipu5ha

Thampan, a landlord. The andya dynasty had provinces on either sides of the 6estern

*hats. The "ing of andalam helped arthanda $arma to con7uer

the "ayamkulamprovince. +n return for this help, arthanda $arma did not attempt to

attack and con7uer andalam, during the e8pansion of his kingdom.

10.+n 93; the <ritish established their supremacy in South +ndia and the princely state

of Travancore came under their governance. =rom 9>?? onwards, a &esident was

appointed by 'ast +ndia 1ompany as administrative head of Travancore. The first

&esident was 1olonel 1ollin acaulay, followed by 1olonel @ohn unro. During histenure unro oversaw the land reclamation efforts in the delta where "allada &iver oins

 Ashtamudi Lake and the reclaimed island was named after him as unroe +sland.