Reconstruction:Proto-South Dravidian/tenkāy

This Proto-South Dravidian entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-South Dravidian

Etymology

According to Krishnamurti (2003), from Proto-Dravidian *teṉ (“south”) +‎ *kāy (“fruit”), meaning literally “the southern fruit”.

Noun

*tenkāy

1. (botany) coconut

Descendants

• Southern Dravidian:
  • Tamil-Kannada:
    • Kannada-Badaga:
      • Kannada: ತೆಙ್ಗಾಯ್ (teṅgāy)
      • Tamil-Kodagu:
        • Tamil-Malayalam:
          • Tamil: தேங்காய் (tēṅkāy)
          • Malayalam: തേങ്ങ (tēṅṅa)
        • Toda-Kota:
          • Toda: [script needed] (tögoy), [script needed] (tegy)
          • Kota (India): [script needed] (tenkāy), [script needed] (tegy)
        • Kodava: ತೆಙ್ಗೆ (teṅge)
• South-Central Dravidian:
  • Telugu: తెంకాయ (teṅkāya), తేమ్రాను (tēmrānu, “coconut tree”)

Unsorted forms

• Southern Dravidian:
  • Tulu: ತೆಙ್ಗು (teṅgu)
  • Tamil-Kannada:
    • Kannada-Badaga:
      • Kannada: ತೆಙ್ಗು (teṅgu)
      • Tamil-Kodagu:
        • Tamil-Malayalam:
          • Tamil: தெங்கு (teṅku), தெங்கம் (teṅkam), தென்னை (teṉṉai)
          • Malayalam: തെങ്ങ് (teṅṅŭ)
        • Toda-Kota:
        • Kodava: ತೆಙ್ಗು ಮರ (teṅgu mara, “coconut tree”)