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vāḷakambalampi

vāḷakambala

nt, nominative singular + api

1. horse hair blanket; lit. tail hair blanket

Built from

• vāḷa — root · tail hair
  From Sanskrit vāla. Cognate with Latin vellus (fleece) and English wool, all from IE *wel- (to pull, pluck fibers). Refers to the coarser hair of an animal's tail or mane.
• kambala — root · blanket
  Sanskrit loanword denoting a woven cloth or blanket, especially of wool or animal hair. Origin uncertain, possibly from Dravidian substrate.
• api — ending · also, even
  Enclitic particle meaning 'even' or 'also', reinforcing or emphasizing the preceding word in the nominative.

Analysis. vāḷa (tail hair) + kambala (blanket); api (even, also) is an enclitic particle emphasizing the preceding noun.

Etymology. vāḷa from Sanskrit vāla (tail, mane), cognate with Latin vellus (fleece, wool) and English wool via Indo-European *wel- (to pull, pluck); kambala is a loanword from Sanskrit kambala (blanket, garment of wool or hair), of uncertain origin but possibly from a Dravidian substrate language. The compound denotes a blanket woven from horse tail-hair, a rough cloth used for bedding.

Meanings from the Digital Pāḷi Dictionary; morphology and etymology by Claude.

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