List of English words of Tamil origin

This is a list of English words that are ultimately of Tamil origin.

Words of Tamil origin borrowed directly from Tamil

The following words were directly borrowed from Tamil: ; appam : from Tamil "appam" (Source: OED); 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); catamaran : from Tamil கட்டுமரம் "kaṭṭumaram"("kattu"=tied up, "maram"=wood) (Source: OED, AHD, MWD); 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); coir : from the Tamil/ Malayalam word "kayaru" for rope or thread or to be twisted. (Source: The American Heritage Dictionary); curry : from Tamil கறி "kaṟi", sauce (Source: OED, AHD, MWD); godown : from கிடங்கு "kidangu/kodangu" a Tamil word for store room (Source: OED); idli : from Tamil இட்லி "idli" (Source: OED); illupi : from Tamil "iluppai" (Source: OED); kabadi/kabaddi : from Tamil "kabadi" (Source: OED); Maldivian : from Tamil "malaidhivu"("malai"=mountain, "dhivu"=island), (Source: OED); Moringa : from முருங்கை "murungai ", a Tamil word for drumstick (Source: OED, AHD); mulligatawny : from Tamil மிளகுத்தண்ணீர் "miḷaku-taṇṇīr" from "miḷaku" black pepper "taṇṇīr", water (Source: OED, AHD, MWD); nadaswaram/nagaswaram : from Tamil "nagasvaram" (Source: OED); palay : from Tamil "palai" (Source: OED); palus : from Tamil "palla", pit (Source: OED); pariah : from Tamil பறையர் "paṟaiyar" , plural of பறையன் "paṟaiyaṉ" (Source: OED, AHD, MWD); pandal : from Tamil "pandal" (Source: OED); pongal : from Tamil "pongal"; poonga oil : from Tamil "punku", oil from pungam tree (Source: OED); poppadom :from அப்பளம் "appalam" a Tamil word for a crispy side dish (Source: OED); portia tree : from Tamil "puvaracu" (Source: OED); sambar : from Tamil "sambar" (Source: OED); sangam : from Tamil "sancam", (Source: OED); Tamil : from Tamil "Tamizh"; tutenag : from Tamil "tuttunagam" (Source: OED)

Words of Tamil origin borrowed from Malayalam

Malayalam is a language which derived parts from Tamil and Sanskrit about 1000 years ago. The following English words of Tamil origin were borrowed from Malayalam.

; betel : from Malayalam "vettila"; Tamil "vettrilei": "vettru"=plant name + "ilei"=leaf, (Source: OED); copra : from the Malayalam word "koppara", coconut kernel or Tamil கொப்பரை "kopparai" / கொப்பறா "koppara" or Telugu word "kobbera"(Source: OED, AHD, MWD); Malayalam : from Malayalam "Malayalam", from Tamil "malai", mountain, "ala", people, and the appendix "-am" (Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malayalam); mango : from Portuguese "manga", from Malayalam "manga", from Tamil "mangaai": "ma/mang"=plant name + "kaai"=fruit.; teak : from Malayalam "thekku", from Tamil "thekku" ; coir : from Malayalam "kayar", from Tamil "kayaru"

Words currently debated

Major English dictionaries like "Oxford English Dictionary", "American Heritage Dictionary", and "Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary", do not conclusively attribute Tamil origin to these words.

; anaconda : possibly from Tamil "aanai kondan", elephant killer [http://news2.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/08/photogalleries/0802_snakes1.html National Geographic] - "The name "anaconda" comes from the Tamil word anaikolra, which means "elephant killer." It is uncertain how a word from the island of Sri Lanka, near India, came to be applied to a snake that lives in the Amazon basin of South America, though it may be because of the anaconda's similarity to Asian pythons."] Most dictionaries (AHD, MWD, "New Oxford American Dictionary") give origin from Sinhalese "henakaňdayā", "whipsnake".; coolie : Of disputed origin. OED states Tamil is proposed by some as the language of origin, from கூலி "cooli" a Tamil word for labour.

; rice : The English word "rice" is borrowed from the Greek word "oruza" ((μαγειρ.) ὄρύζα) which is similar to the Tamil அரிசி "arici" and Telugu "Vari" referring to paddy . 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. John 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).

Notes

The etymologies of 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.

References

*cite web|url=http://www.wmich.edu/dialogues/themes/indianwords.htm|title=Etymology of Selected Words of Indian Language Origin|publisher=Western Michigan University|accessdate=2007-07-01

"See also:" Indian English, Lists of English words of international origin