IN Marathi the word Kolī has two meanings:— (1) The name of a caste or tribe or a member of it. (2) Spider. Dr. Bloch in the etymological vocabulary appended to his book, La formation de la langue marathe, appears to identify the two meanings through the medium of a third meaning “ weaver ” found in other Neo-Indian languages; and derives them all from the Skr. Kaula, Kaulika-. Dr. Turner, in his Gujarati Phonology, also considers Kaulika- to be the Skr. form of Kolī, śudra caste.

Dr. Bloch has given the fuller account of this word and it runs as follows. His abbreviations have been expanded and a printer's error corrected: Kolī masc. fisher, watercarrier (name of caste), kind of spider; Sindhi, Korī, weaver, spider; Gujarati, Koli, Hind., Kolī, name of caste; Hemacandra, Kolī tantuvāyo jālakārakrmiś ca (93, 5); Skr. Kaula-, Kaulika-. In connection with this account one or two observations may be made. The authority for the meaning of Kolī in Marathi is presumably Molesworth. He gives an additional meaning as follows: “ also a caste or individual of it, which inhabit woods and wilds living by robbery, by killing deer, etc. ”