From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Inherited from Proto-Dravidian *-may. Cognate with Kannada -ಮೆ (-me), Tamil -மை (-mai).
-മ • (-ma)
- added to nouns or verbs to produce nouns expressing an abstract quality or condition.
- Example:
- പഴയ (paḻaya, “old”) + -മ (-ma) = പഴമ (paḻama, “oldness”)
- താഴ് (tāḻŭ, “low”) + -മ (-ma) = താഴ്മ (tāḻma, “Humility”)