History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c26.s3.t5.2

v1.c26.s3.t5.2

In 1885 Grierson notes the similarity (Grierson 1926, pp. 44-60), and a few years George Watt states (Watt, 1972, IV, p. 153) that “the oilpress is identical with that used for the sugarcane but smaller in size”. The Sanskrit word *ikṣu* for sugarcane gave rise to the later words *ikh* and *ukh*, as well as to *ukar* (a vessel for husking grain) and to *ukhli* or *okli*, a small mortar (Platt, 1899, p. 106). Both the terms *kolhu* and *ghāni* are used for the sugarcane press, except, as remarked by Grierson, that the sugarmill is larger, has sloping sides (in contrast to the bottle-shaped pit of an oilpress) and carries no reuti or stirrer (which some though not all oil-presses do). In Marathi the term khali or khalli is used to denote substances as dissimilar as oilcake and sugar (Watt, 1972, VI, p. 502).