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Bergland unter

The present article deals with the semantic adaptation of Sanskrit terms that are related to a mountainous environment to the maritime world of the Maldive islands in the Indian ocean. On the basis of a historical analysis of several toponyms (names of atolls, islands and villages) in the Maldivian language (Dhivehi) the authors propose new etymologies which reflect the migration of the ancestors of the present-day Maldivians from Northern India to their insular home.