Save Type Settlement Usage Sinhalese Scripts මහනුවර(Sinhala) Pronounced Pron. MA-ha-noo-va-ra [key·IPA] Meaning & History Means "great city" derived from Sanskrit महा (maha) meaning "great" combined with Sinhala නුවර (nuwara) meaning "city, town". This is the Sinhala name for Kandy.