A Comparative Grammar of the Modern Aryan Languages of India v1.c5.98

v1.c5.98

§ 36. *a* into *o*. This change is very rare. Vararuchi's instances are not to the point. They are *voram*, *loṇam*, *ṇomalliâ*, *moro*, *moho*, *chotthi*, *choddahî*, for *badara*, *lavaṇa*, *navamallikâ*, *mayûra*, *mayûkha*, *chaturtha*, *chaturdaśî*. In all these words what has taken place is either elision of a consonant, by which two vowels are brought into contact, or softening of the semi-vowel *v* into *u*, in both cases giving rise by contraction to *o*. The syllable *ava*, except when initial, in all cases in Prakrit is shortened into *o*, though not unvaryingly so in the modern languages.