Note 115 — Chapter XIII · THE MOSLEM AND OTHER NATIVES OF MALABAR.

There are three different derivations of this word. Some deduce it from the pure Hindostani and corrupted Sanscrit word ma (a mother), and the Tamul pilla (a son), “sons of their mothers,” the male progenitor being unknown. Others suppose it to be a compound of mukkul (a daughter) and pilla (a son), “a daughter’s son,” also an allusion to their origin. The third is a rather fanciful derivation from Mokhai-pilla “sons of, or emigrants from, Mocha,” in Arabia.