Tamil
Americannoun
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Tamils,
plural
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Tamil
plural
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a member of a Dravidian people of southern India and Sri Lanka.
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the Dravidian language of the Tamils, spoken in India principally in Tamil Nadu state and in Sri Lanka on the northern and eastern coasts.
adjective
noun
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a member of a mixed Dravidian and Caucasoid people of S India and Sri Lanka
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the language of this people: the state language of Tamil Nadu, also spoken in Sri Lanka and elsewhere, belonging to the Dravidian family of languages
adjective
Usage
What does Tamil mean? Tamil is the name for a person of a Dravidian culture group that is located primarily in Southern India and northeastern Sri Lanka. Tamil is also the name of the language spoken by Tamils. Tamils, like all Dravidian peoples, are aboriginal to Southern India and Sri Lanka. That is, Dravidian peoples are the earliest known inhabitants of that geographic area. Today, most of the world’s Tamils live in the southeastern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and northern part of the country of Sri Lanka, although many Tamils live around the world.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Sivaranjani Muthunathan was travelling in Nepal by bus with 56 others from India's southern state of Tamil Nadu.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
His public relations officer, Yuvaraj, told BBC Tamil that the media would be informed if the actor issued a statement.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
The Tamil Nadu Forest Department says it is examining their documentation, including whether rules governing the international movement and possession of CITES-listed animals were followed.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
The temperature read 36C but the radiologist, from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, said it felt hotter.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
"I—I'm so sorry. Maybe they speak both? After all, you and your mother speak Tamil and Kannada, right?"
From "Born Behind Bars" by Padma Venkatraman
In their time on the island, the Tamils, including 16 children, were housed in military tents in the fenced camp, which was guarded at all times by private security company G4S.
From BBC ● Dec. 16, 2024
Lawyers representing the Tamils described the move as a “very welcome step” in a “long battle for justice”.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2024
The Tamils have been given green military cots to sleep on but have stacked wooden pallets and flattened cardboard boxes on top in an effort to make them more comfortable.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2024
In 2021, dozens of Tamils became the first people ever to claim asylum on Diego Garcia after their boat ran into trouble.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2024
The Tamils have a proverb to the effect that "The palmyra lives for a lac of years after planting, and lasts for a lac of years when felled."
From The Pearl of India by Maturin Murray Ballou
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
