A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian or South-Indian Family of Languages c8.69.2

c8.69.2

We have here a prefix beginning with *t*, which points to the possibility of the Tamil *on* having originally been *ton*, and the Canarese *om* having been *tom*. What is still more worthy of notice is, that in the higher numbers, even in Tamil, into which nine enters, *on* is represented by *ton* (or its equivalent *toḷ*)—e.g., *toṇṇûru*, ninety, *toḷḷâyiram*, nine hundred. In Telugu we find *tom* not only in *tom-midi*, nine, but in *tom-bhei* or *tom-badi*, ninety, and *tomma-nnûru*, nine hundred. In Canarese we find the same prefix in *tom-bhattu*, ninety, though nine is *ombhattu*, and nine hundred is *ombhaiyi-nûru*. In Coorg, nine is *oyim-badu*, whilst ninety, *ttonûru*, follows the Tamil, and nine hundred, *ombei-nûru*, the Canarese. The Tuḷu word for ninety is *soṇpa*, in which *soṇ* evidently stands for the *tom* or *toḷ* of the other dialects: nine hundred is *ormba nûdu*. The Tuda word is *ênpath*. Even in Tamil a poetical form for nine has an initial *t*. This is *toṇḍu*, of which we cannot doubt that the first portion, *toṇ*, is allied to the *tom* of the other dialects. The original shape of this prefix must have been *toḷ*. The final *ḷ* is changed into a nasal, according to a well-recognised Dravidian law of sounds, not only when followed by a nasal, but even when followed by certain hard consonants. *eḷ + ney*, sesame oil, becomes *eṇṇey*; *kal + malei*, stony hill, *kaṇmalei*. So also *sel + du*, having gone, becomes *śendru*;