Pavanar’s Etymology Research Methodology

Abstract

Just as the roots of naturally growing trees, plants and vines are hidden in the soil and the seeds and ends of those roots are rare to find, it is also rare to find the roots of a group of words in Tamil language. Tamil is the language of Manthan(man), which is still living as a colloquial and written language after thousands of years. As such the Tamil language has not been homogeneous since its inception. Everyone knows that the Tamil language, which had a few hundred words in use at the time of its origin, grew, wore out, decayed and changed over time and established itself. Many thousands of words in Tamil language today have their roots in a simple act. Plunging into the ocean of language, the Pavanar has found fifty-four root words among them. This article seeks to know the methods of study found by Pavanar for finding root words.