by তন্ময় ভট (guest)
1/7/2006, 9:49 AM
Sorry, forgot to mention the cause for my doubt: from the distribution of the name, the phonological structure of the word, and the curious combination of elements in the folk etymology, I would have guessed it is actually a Farsi word which moved over to the Hindu culture through the Muslims. I am not at all sure, though: in part, because the folk etymology is certainly possible, and in part because Farsi is completely Greek to me :-)