Proto-South Dravidian : *ammā ~ *ammai
Meaning : mother
Tamil : ammā, ammāḷ
Tamil meaning : mother, matron, lady
Tamil derivates : (also amma, ammamma) excl. of pity, surprise, joy; ammai mother, name of various goddesses, grandmother; amman_ai mother, lady; amman_ goddess; amman_ē excl. of surprise; ammācci, ammāttāḷ, ammāy maternal grandmother; ammān_ maternal uncle, wife's father, husband of father's sister; ammāmmi maternal uncle's wife, husband's mother; ammanti maternal uncle's wife; ammāñci son of a maternal uncle, fool; ammaŋkār, ammaŋkāḷ daughter of a maternal uncle, wife of a Vaiṣṇava priest; ammaṇi term of respect used in referring to or calling a woman
Malayalam : amma
Malayalam meaning : mother, goddess (esp. Kāḷi)
Malayalam derivates : interj. (also ammē, ammammā); ammamma mother's mother; ammān, ammāvan, ammāman, ammōn, ammōman maternal uncle; ammāyi, ammāvi maternal aunt, uncle's wife, mother-in-law; ammiṇi affectionate appellation esp. of infants, sometimes of mother and wife
Kannada : amma, ama
Kannada meaning : mother, respectable woman, grandmother, village goddess; interj. denoting pain or weariness, grief, surprise (also amama, ammamma)
Kannada derivates : amba, ambe mother
Kodagu : ammë
Kodagu meaning : Amma Coorg (a brahminized subcaste of Coorgs, said to be descended from a Coorg man and a Brahman girl [their amma or mother] whose customs they observe)
Kodagu derivates : fem. ammati
Tulu : amma
Tulu meaning : mother, lady
Tulu derivates : amme father; ammayya interj. of sorrow or pain; tammalè maternal uncle, father-in-law
Irula : amme
Irula meaning : father
Notes : The most common stem is the one ending in *-ā; *ammai is also reconstructible on the basis of Tam. ammai, Mal. amma, Iru. amme. Kannaḍa forms with -mb- seem to have been reborrowed from Indo-Aryan. The meaning 'mother' is common for almost all dialects, but in some of them the derivative form *ammai has assumed the meaning 'father' (cf. Tam. ammān_ 'maternal uncle, wife's father', i. e. 'he-of-mother').
Number in DED : 0183
