Word, words, and words

The idea of this blog post is to find elements of similarity/commonality words from various languages -- perhaps even hint at a common root word.

1. Farohar/Faravahar/Fravahar:

Ancient Farsi/Parsi/Persian symbol. It is usually a feathered disc, sometimes depicted with the bust of a feather-robed Archer symbolising the Parsi god Ashura.

The "feather" perhaps indicates the ability to fly/travel/move (even if in a spiritual/transcendental sense). 'Far' sounds the same as the English 'fur', but is closer in meaning to the Hindi 'par'. 'Par' means wing. Perhaps the English 'fur' and the Hindi 'par' have the same root -- some kind of hairy growth on the skin.

Now, Farohar itself is said to represent the king's Fravashi. Faravashi is the Avestan personal spirit of an individual, whether dead, living, and yet-unborn. The fravashis of an individual sends out the urvan (often translated as 'soul') into the material world to fight the battle of good versus evil. On the morning of the fourth day after death, the urvan is imagined to return to its fravashi, where its experiences in the material world are collected to assist the next generation in their fight between good and evil.

This brings us to Urvan -- the soul. In Tamizh, Uyir means the breath of life. A person losing his 'uyir' implies, he is dead. Is there a connection? Considering that that the Pallava dynasty, which made southern India its home is said to have Persian (Parthian) origins. The Iranian Shah's dynasty itself was called the 'Pahlavi'.

2. Nonplussed

As strange or awkward as the word sounds, what is stranger is its meaning.

Some words are spelt differently by the British and North Americans. For instance, 'organise' and 'organize'. Another example could be 'flavour' and 'flavor'.

Now, here's a word that is spelt the same on both sides of the Atlantic, yet means exactly the opposite on either shores.

In British English, nonplussed means a state of bafflement or perplexity. Yet, in American English, it commonly means (not standard yet) not disconcerted or unperturbed.

It is said that this usage may have resulted from the mistaken assumption that the 'non' in nonplussed is the usual negative prefix like in non-vegetarian or non-stop.

3. Mirage & Mareech

There certainly is a link between the two words -- both based on the visual faculty. In a sense, both mean "what seems to be...", be it the desert phenomenon or the Ramayana's Rakshasa-turned-golden deer.

4. Gene

The word has its root in "Gen", which means to beget. A related Armenian word apparently is "Chanim." Possible connection to Janm and Janani of Sanskrit.

5. Prandial, Praathal

It means something related to meals. "During or relating to dinner or lunch," says the online Oxford dictionary.

Interestingly, there is one  word in Malayalam--the native tongue of Kerala, the southern Indian state--which almost means the same-and sounds the same too.

A section Kerala natives, especially the Namboodiri (Kerala Brahmin) community, use the term Praathal for breakfast. While the usage is probably fading out, it does exist.

6. Iraq, Irakkam (Malayalam)

Etymologically, Iraq could mean "The lowland"--as opposed to the plateau of Persia (Iran). The Malayalam word for a descent is Irakkam.

Not that the two words are necessarily connected, since Irakkam is a derivative of Iranguka (to descend). Yet, I don't see why we should completely discard the possibility of a connection. The Tamil word Irakkam, though, means mercy.

Iraq is also said to have derived from Uruk (Ur meaning a settlement -- village, town, et al).

7. Moshe, Moses, Moshai, Mahashay

Not sure if anyone has explored this, but there seems to be an obvious connection between Moshe and the quintessential Bengali Moshai, as made popular by Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Anand.

Going by a basic Google run, Moshe refers to a respected or high-born one... Mahashay or Moshai also refers to a respected one...

Master also has its etymological roots in "the greater one". If so, then the Malayalam version of Master, "Maashe" is both etymologically and phonetically close to Moshai, Moshe, and even Moses.

8. House

The Mongolian Ger, which is basically a round hut, means home. So does the Hindi ghar, although this word is apparently derived from graha, which means both house and planet.

In Arabic Bait/Beit/Bayt is house. Like in Bait-ul Haram or the forbidden house.

Can the Dravidian "veedu" be a derivative of that word? Curiosly, the Telugu word Baytiki means the exact opposite: outside of home or any enclosure, whereas a home in Telugu is "Illu".

9. Khumar/Kumhar/Kumar

Khumar, which is Urdu, means a pot/jar of wine, and implies a "high" or intoxication. Its root lies in the Arabic Khumm, which means a pond. Kumbh in Sanskrit is a pitcher of water. Kumbh Mela is about ritual bathing. 

Kumhar in the Hindu caste system is the potmaker.

Not sure if the surname Kumar, meaning a young boy/man, is connected. The "intoxication of youth", jawani ki Khumar, is a possible tangent to explore. There is also the Skanda-Alexander connection to explore, too.

10. Maha/Mega/Maga (Tamizh)

11. Chhand-Zend: One meaning of the Hindi word छंद (chhand) is Veda. Another meaning is "meaning" itself. (Otherwise it means pronunciation). "Zend" in Zend Avesta means commentary on Avesta.

12. Kosambari, Kachumber, Cucumber: Kosambari is a pulses salad popular in the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a refreshing effect, especially in hot weather. Kachumber is a type of salad made in northern India and Pakistan -- and is said to be similar to Mediterranean and west Asian preparations. Cucumber is often used in Kachumber as an ingredient.