Tracing Indo-European Languages' Tamil Root

TN body along with Oxford University Press to publish etymological dictionary in 12 volumes

- SUBASHINI VIJAYAKUMAR @Chennai

EVEN Tamil teachers in the state might be taken aback if we told them that the origins of the English word 'free' could be traced to Tamil. While etymology links it to the Sanskrit root 'pri', meaning 'to love', a new research project challenges this idea, suggesting that the original root word comes from the Tamil word puri, meaning 'desire' as in Tirukkural, pugazh purindha which means 'wife who desires praise'. This revelation is part of what is said to be a potentially path-breaking initiative to explore Tamil's connections to Indo-European languages, providing a new perspective on the evolution of words.

The Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation (TNTB & ESC) has partnered with the Oxford University Press (OUP) to publish a 12-volume comparative etymological dictionary, which will uncover Tamil's ancient link to Indo-European languages. Led by Professor G Arasentiran (former head of the department of Tamil, Madras Christian College), the project builds upon the work of renowned English philologist William Skeat, who identified 461 Proto-Indo-European (PIE) roots in his influential work, An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language.