Tamil
Americannoun
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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:
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
The 50-year-old CEO is US-based, but hires workers from Tamil Nadu, where he grew up, one of India's international technology hubs.
From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026
He has composed more than 8,000 film songs, drawing heavily on Tamil Nadu's folk and rural ballad traditions.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026
Instead, the actor chose to infuse her own heritage into the character, who uses Tamil as a way to feel connected to her late father.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026
It sounded like our father, O. R. T. Narayan, something something—all in English, not Tamil like Amma’s prayers.
From "The Bridge Home" by Padma Venkatraman
It was no coincidence that, under the British Raj in the 19th Century, Tamils made up the largest chunk of Indian administrators and workers in Southeast Asia.
From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2025
Tamils have described their time on the island as like living in "hell".
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
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
Talko-Hryncewicz, J. D., 259 Talodi, the, 75 Tamai, K., 250 Tamehu, the, 545 Tamils, the, 549 Tanala, the, 242 Tangkhuls, the, 178 Tanguts, the, 168, 172 Tanoans, the, 382 n.
From Man, Past and Present by Haddon, Alfred Court
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.
