Mal: ചേര്ത്തല c(h)ērttala
‘Joined Land’ Town, Kerala
From Tam/Mal: c(h)ēr/c(h)ērtt, ‘join’, ‘attach’, ‘add’; Mal: aḷam, coastal area.
It is possible that the name refers to ancient land reclamation: extensive parts of the backwaters have been reclaimed from Vembanad Lake for cultivation, in earlier times this was done with water wheels.
Also, Cherthala joins the Alappuzha-Kochi ‘peninsula’ (formed by the Vembanad Lake) to the mainland at its mid-point.
Also: ‘Coconut Land’, ‘Coconut Point’. From Mal/Tam: cēr, ‘marking-nut tree’ [Semecarpus anacardium] or Mal: kēram/chēra, coconut; and aḷam, ‘coastal area’ or Mal/Tam: tala/talai, ‘head’, ‘point’.
