-mā Charles Li

Tamilex project.

mā
enclitic particle a particle following the optative nōku-ō yāṉ-ē tēyka-mātēykamā kālai Oh I ache! May the time pass [quickly]. Puṟanāṉūṟu 234, lines 1–2 uppu iṉṟu puṟkai yuṇka-māyuṇkamā koṟkaiyōṉ-ē Oh man from Koṟkai, please eat this porridge without salt. Teyvaccilaiyār ad Tolkāppiyam Collatikāram 273 This particle is described in Tolkāppiyam Collatikāram 273 as a metrical filler going with the optative (viyaṅkōḷ). In the extant corpus, it is extremely rare, and in some cases it may be interpreted, alternatively, as the adjective mā in the sense of big or dark. Examples given by commentators on the Tolkāppiyam do not appear in extant poems, although one, orkamā tōḻiyavar tērmaṇik kural, may have been a variant reading on Naṟṟiṇai 145, varuvarō / vamma vāḻiyavar tērmaṇik kuralē. Given its rarity, it is understandibly not mentioned in existing lexica. The defines it as An expletive, but unrelated to the optative; instead, it cites Naṟṟiṇai 178, mā tavat teḷinta. In fact, commenting on Tolkāppiyam Collatikāram 273, Nacciṉārkkiṉiyar states that mā only generally (perumpāṉmai) goes with the optative, leaving scope for interpretation, although he is the only commentator, out of the four, to do so. 1924–1936 Tamil Lexicon (University of Madras) p. 3142 ― part. An expletive; or acaiccol. viḷintaṉṟu mātava (naṟ. 178). Nacciṉārkkiṉiyar on Tolkāppiyam Collatikāram 273 (ed. Kōvintacāmipiḷḷai 1997, 299) māveṉkiḷavi viyaṅkōḷaic col ― māveṉṉu miṭaic coṟ perumpāṉmai viyaṅkōḷaic cārn tacainilaiyāy varu meṉṟavāṟu. Chevillard, Jean-Luc. 1996. Le commentaire de Cēṉāvaraiyar sur le Collatikāram du Tolkāppiyam: Sur la métalangue grammaticale des maîtres commentateurs tamouls mediévaux. Pondichéry: EFEO/IFP. Kōvintacāmipiḷḷai, Irāma. 1997. Tolkāppiyam Collatikāram (Nacciṉarrkkiṉiyar uraiyuṭaṉ). Tañcāvūr: Caracuvati Makāl Nūlakam. Rajam, V. S. 1992. A Reference Grammar of Classical Tamil Poetry (150 B.C.―pre-fith/sixth century A.D.) Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society.