pettah
/ˈpɛtə/noun
1In Sri Lanka and southern India: a town or village lying outside or around a fort, and itself sometimes partly fortified. Now historical.
2 the Pettah: the traditional market area of Colombo.
Origin
Mid 18th century; earliest use found in Richard Cambridge (1717–1802), poet and essayist. From Malayalam pēṭṭa and Tamil pēṭṭai, probably ultimately from Sanskrit pratiṣṭhā establishment.