Mal: കാഞ്ഞങ്ങാട് kāññaṅṅāṭ
‘Strychnine Forest’ Town, Kerala.
From Mal: kāñjiram, ‘strychnine tree’, ‘snake wood tree’, ‘poison nut’ [Strychnos nux vomica]; and Tam/Mal: aṅkāṭi/aṅgaḍi/aṅṅāṭi, ‘bazaar/market’, ‘town/village’; or Mal: kāṭu, ‘wilderness’, ‘wood’.
This derivation suggests an original Kanjiramkadu and the name may share a similar origin to its smaller name twin, Kanjirangad.
Kanhangad is a commercial centre for a region that grows a wide range of tropical agricultural produce (rubber, pepper, cashew, ginger, coconut, rice and tobacco) as well as fishing.
