भगौना

Where it comes from

Uncertain. Perhaps from Sanskrit बहुगुणा f (bahuguṇā) or from the masculine बहुगुण m (bahuguṇa, “having many qualities or properties”) + Middle Indo-Aryan -𑀓- (-ka-), from बहु (bahu, “many, numerous, abundant”) + गुण (guṇa, “good quality, merit, property”), indicative of the vessel’s multipurposeness, as it is used for various kitchen works including heating, cooking, soaking, storing etc.

Cognates

Cognate with Kashmiri बहुगुन् (bahugun), Bengali বোগ্নো (bōgnō), বোক্নো (bōknō), Marathi बगुणां (baguṇā̃), बगुणें (baguṇẽ), Kannada ಬೋಗುಣಿ (bōguṇi), ಬೋಗಣಿ (bōgaṇi), Telugu భగోణీ (bhagōṇī) and Tamil போகணி (pōkaṇi).

An alternate theory suggests derivation from a hypothesized Sanskrit *भागद्रोण (*bhāgadroṇa). As per the theory, from Apabhramsa *भागओनअ (*bhāgaonaa), from Prakrit *𑀪𑀸𑀕𑀤𑁄𑀡𑀅 (*bhāgadoṇaa), from Sanskrit *भागद्रोणक (*bhāgadroṇaka), from *भागद्रोण (*bhāgadroṇa, “a vessel used to measure shares of grains or produce (to be paid as tax)”) + -क (-ka), from भाग (bhāga, “part, portion, share”) + द्रोण (droṇa, “a wooden vessel or cup, bucket, trough”). Compare Sanskrit द्रोणमापक (droṇamāpaka, “measurer of the king's grain-share”).

More information

Either way, the alternative forms भिगोना (bhigonā) and भिगौना (bhigaunā) are a result of conflation with भिगोना (bhigonā, “to wet, soak, drench”). The word is also said by some to be derived entirely from भिगोना (bhigonā, “to wet, soak, drench”) since the vessel is used to soak dals etc, but this theory cannot be true because of the presence of cognates in other languages.