List of English words of Tamil origin
From Free net encyclopedia
This is a list of English words that are ultimately of Tamil origin.
Contents |
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Words borrowed from modern Tamil
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Food
- Curry
- from கறி kaṟi, sauce (Source: OED, AHD, MWD)
- Mulligatawny
- from miḷaku-taṇṇīr from miḷaku black pepper taṇṇīr, water (Source: OED, AHD, MWD)
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Economics
- Cash
- The primary meaning of the word cash, paper money, or money in general, comes from Latin capsa, chest. A secondary meaning of cash, referring to any of various coins used in southern India and China, comes ultimately from Tamil காசு kācu (Source: OED, AHD, MWD)
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Equipment
- Catamaran
- from கட்டுமரம் kaṭṭumaram (Source: OED, AHD, MWD)
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Social
- Pariah
- from பறையர் paṟaiyar , plural of பறையன் paṟaiyaṉ (Source: OED, AHD, MWD)
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Others
- Cheroot
- from French cheroute, from Tamil சுருட்டு curuṭṭu, roll or rolled (Source: OED, AHD, MWD)
- Corundum
- from a Tamil word for 'ruby', குருந்தம் kuruntam or குருவிந்தம் kuruvintam (Source: OED)
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Words borrowed from Malayalam, of Old Tamil origin
The following words Old Tamil origin have been borrowed by English from Malayalam which, like modern Tamil, is a descendant of Old Tamil.
- Copra
- from the Malayalam word koppara "Coconut's kernel" (Source: OED, AHD, MWD), (Tamil கொப்பரை kopparai or கொப்பறா koppaṟā)
- Mango
- from Portuguese manga, from Malay manga, from Tamil மாங்காய் māṅkāy (Source: AHD). OED attributes it to "a Dravidian word such as Kodagu maŋge or Malayalam māṅṅa or Tamil māṅkāy". M-W says "probably from Malayalam mAnna"
- Teak
- from Portuguese teca, from Malayalam tēkka (Source: OED, AHD, MWD), (Tamil தேக்கு tēkku)
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Words currently debated
OED, AHD and MW, at present do not attribute Tamil origin to these words.
- rice
- The English word rice is borrowed from the Greek word "oruza" ((μαγειρ.) ὄρύζα) which is similar to the Tamil word அரிசி arici. This strongly indicates trade between ancient Greeks and ancient Indians in region of Southern India. The OED's etymological analysis, for example, is now well over a century old and the field has advanced a good bit since then. In relation to the etymology of rice, linguists in the 1920s categorically ruled out the possibility of a Tamil origin arguing, inter alia, that there was no direct contact between the South of India and the Greek-speaking world in the 4th century BC (see e.g. Jules Bloch's "Le nom du riz", printed in Etudes Asiatique, L'ecole Francaise d'extreme orient, 1925). Of late, it is well established that there were in fact significant trade links between India and Greece at that time, and several newer scholars take it for granted that the word entered Greek from Tamil (e.g. Thorley's 1969 piece "The development of trade between the Roman Empire and the East under Augustus", printed in Greece & Rome, 16:2 at pp. 222).
- ginger
- middle English gingivere, from old English gingifer and from old French gingivre, both from medieval Latin gingiber, from Latin zingiberi, from Greek zingiberis, of middle Indic origin (akin to Pali singiveram), from dravidian : akin to Tamil இஞ்சி iñci, ginger (of southeast Asian origin) + Tamil வேர் vēr, root.
- orange
- Naranj (French)< Naranja (Spanish < Naranjah (arabic) < Naranga (Sanskrit) < Narangai (Tamil) from naran (fragrance) + gai (fruit).
- Candy
- Originally there was the phrase sugar-candy, from French sucre-candi, Italian zucchero candi, from Arabic sukkar qandî, from Persian qand, from Sanskrit ;;khaNDu, from Tamil கண்டு kaṇṭu, meaning a ball of candied sugar.
- Coolie
- often attributed to tamil கூலி kūli meaning wage or hire, but also possibly from Hindi quli, from the name of an aboriginal Gujarati tribe kuli.
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Notes
The etymologies on this page are from the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the American Heritage Dictionary, (AHD), and the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary (M-W). It is noted when the dictionaries' etymologies do not agree.
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References
- Template:Note Oxford English Dictionary
- Template:Note American Heritage Dictionary
- Template:Note Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary
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See also: Indian English, Lists of English words of international origin `