The Tamil word ennai (from niu/ngai/niyor) became a generic term for oil, leading to ellu-ennai (sesame oil), thenga-ennai (coconut oil), and nall-ennai (groundnut oil). Simultaneously, in Sanskrit, thaila, originally for sesame oil (tila), evolved into a general term for all oils. This demonstrates how different linguistic traditions converged on similar concepts related to oil.

The oily evolution of language!