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:
Officials said the animal was being kept at the home of a relative of Vikram in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu state.
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
Prominent Tamil Nadu environmental activist Piyush Manush said the fight to save the community's soul is not just about the city itself.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 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
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
The status of Sri Lankan Tamils is an emotive subject in the state, with different political parties promising to help resolve their citizenship concerns.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2025
At least 13 more Tamils have been granted citizenship since.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2025
In 2021, dozens of Tamils became the first people ever to claim asylum on the Indian Ocean island, which is the site of a secretive UK-US military base.
From BBC ● Dec. 16, 2024
Instead, the Biot administration established a separate process to determine if the Tamils could be returned to Sri Lanka or be granted international protection - which the UN says is akin to refugee status.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2024
A Royal reception was held in the Town-Hall on April 22nd attended by Chinese, Arabs, Malays, Tamils and representatives of all the medley of blood which makes up the East.
From The Life of King Edward VII with a sketch of the career of King George V by J. Castell (John Castell) Hopkins
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.
