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tamil

noun · adjective

Simple meaning

The Dravidian language spoken since prehistoric times by the Tamil in southern India and Sri Lanka.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

tuhmil

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

təˈmɪl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. The Dravidian language spoken since prehistoric times by the Tamil in southern India and Sri Lanka

  2. A Dravidian language spoken in the state of Tamil Nadu, India and in Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia.

  3. A member of the mixed Dravidian and Caucasian people of southern India and Sri Lanka

  4. A person who originates from Tamil Nadu, India or Sri Lanka or has tamil origins.

  5. The Tamil script.

adjective

  1. Of or pertaining to the Tamil people, culture, or language.

  2. Of or relating to a speaker of the Tamil language or the language itself

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Dravidian / originates

tamil languagetamil cultureearly tamilmodern tamil

Other combinations

tamil literaturetamil countrytamil communitytamil land

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • tamil eelamnounCompound term

    The independent state that the Tamil Tigers have fought for.

  • tamil tigersnounCompound term

    A terrorist organization in Sri Lanka that began in 1970 as a student protest over the limited university access for Tamil students.

  • liberation tigers of tamil eelamnounCompound term

    A terrorist organization in Sri Lanka that began in 1970 as a student protest over the limited university access for Tamil students.

  • world tamil associationnounCompound term

    A terrorist organization in Sri Lanka that began in 1970 as a student protest over the limited university access for Tamil students.

  • world tamil movementnounCompound term

    A terrorist organization in Sri Lanka that began in 1970 as a student protest over the limited university access for Tamil students.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.