Dravidian
Americannoun
-
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
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
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of Dravidian
First recorded in 1855–60; from Sanskrit Draviḍ(a) the proper name of an ethnic group + -ian
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.
TM Krishna, prominent Indian vocalist, author and social activist, says: "Elections are about stirring imagination. This is not a verdict against Dravidian politics. It is something else. Vijay offers a new imagination."
From BBC • May 5, 2026
Some linguists, however, argue that the appearance of Sanskrit was predated by Tamil, a Dravidian language that is still used by almost 85 million native speakers in southern India and Sri Lanka.
From Scientific American • Aug. 24, 2023
Now known as Hampi, that great city marks the pinnacle of Dravidian architecture, with its soaring temple towers and colonnades.
From New York Times • Nov. 17, 2022
Tamil Nadu’s politics are hyperlocal even by Indian standards—it’s essentially a two-party state, with its guiding ideologies based in the historic Dravidian Self-Respect Movement, a source of pride for India’s Tamil population.
From Slate • May 4, 2021
The forms pirāmaṇa and Tirāmiḍa in Tamil illustrate another feature of Dravidian enunciation.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 7 "Drama" to "Dublin" by Various
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.
