Proto-South Dravidian : *aṇaŋ- (?)
Meaning : neck, jaw
Tamil : aṇal
Tamil meaning : neck, side of the upper jaw, chin, throat, windpipe, beard, dewlap
Tamil derivates : aṇar, aṇari side of the upper jaw; aṇār neck
Malayalam : aṇa
Malayalam meaning : jaw, hinder part of jaw
Malayalam derivates : aṇa-ppallu grinder, double tooth; aṇal jaw, hinder part of mouth; aṇali viper; aṇṇāṭi cheekbone; aṇṇi inside of the cheek, joint of jaws
Kannada : aṇal
Kannada meaning : under part of the mouth, the mouth
Notes : A complex case. Most of the forms can be traced back to PSDR *aṇal, although ones like Tam. aṇa-r, Mal. aṇṇi suggest the -l may be suffixal. However, the Proto-Nilgiri form, as is seen from the Kota evidence, is *aṇǝg- < *aṇV[ŋ]g-, and in the Nilgiri languages it is only found within the compound *aṇǝg-pal 'molar tooth'. This makes me suspect that the original form may indeed have been *aṇVŋ-, and everything but Kota aṇg actually represents later modifications of the protostem as it kept merging with additional suffixes.
Number in DED : 0114
