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
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
Thenmozhi, the bureau's Southern Zone Deputy Director, told BBC Tamil that it had written to wildlife officials in Chennai asking them to verify documents and take appropriate action.
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
Richard Parker was born in Bangladesh and raised in Tamil Nadu, so why should he have a French accent?
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
Also, "what these digs testify is to the existence of a distinctly sophisticated style of civilisation," notes Nirmala Lakshman, author of The Tamils - A Portrait of a Community.
From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2025
Tamils have described their time on the island as like living in "hell".
From BBC ● Dec. 16, 2024
While guards watched and military jets occasionally roared overhead, Shanthi and the other Tamils approached British forces on the island with a letter asking to be sent to a safe country.
From BBC ● Dec. 7, 2024
Most of the Tamils have been awaiting final decisions on claims for international protection - which the United Nations says is akin to refugee status - or appealing against rejections.
From BBC ● Dec. 2, 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 Alfred Court Haddon
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.
