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, adjectiveWords nearby Dravidian
draughtsman, draughty, Drava, dr. avdp., Dravida, Dravidian, dravite, draw, draw a bead on, drawability, draw a blank
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use Dravidian in a sentence
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
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