Dravidian

[ druh-vid-ee-uhn ]

/ drəˈvɪd i ən /

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noun

a family of languages, wholly distinct from Indo-European, spoken mostly in southern India and Sri Lanka and including Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and, in Pakistan, Brahui.

a member of the aboriginal population occupying much of southern India and parts of Sri Lanka.

adjective

Also Dra·vid·ic. of or relating to this people or their language.

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Origin of Dravidian

First recorded in 1855–60; from Sanskrit Draviḍ(a) the proper name of an ethnic group + -ian

OTHER WORDS FROM Dravidian

pre-Dra·vid·i·an, adjectivepre-Dra·vid·ic, adjective

Words nearby Dravidian

draughtsman, draughty, Drava, dr. avdp., Dravida, Dravidian, dravite, draw, draw a bead on, drawability, draw a blank

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Dravidian in a sentence

Even to-day infanticide still appears to be practised by some of the Dravidian tribes of Hindustan.
Elements of Folk Psychology|Wilhelm Wundt
In the illimitable past it was this way that Dravidian peoples flocked down from Asiatic highlands to the borderland of India.
The Gates of India|Thomas Holdich
In India a Dravidian Paria acts as the temporary village priest.
Indian Myth and Legend|Donald Alexander Mackenzie
It is equally certain that rites of undoubted Dravidian origin are to be observed among the Cham.
Indo-China and Its Primitive People|Henry Baudesson

Buildings in the Dravidian style are very numerous in proportion to the extent of the area in which they are found.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 4|Various

British Dictionary definitions for Dravidian

Dravidian

/ (drəˈvɪdɪən) /

noun

a family of languages spoken in S and central India and Sri Lanka, including Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, and Gondi

a member of one of the aboriginal races of India, pushed south by the Indo-Europeans and now mixed with them

adjective

denoting, belonging to, or relating to this family of languages or these peoples

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012