List of English words of Tamil origin

List of English words of Tamil origin

This is a list of English words that are directly or ultimately of Tamil origin. The list is by no means exhaustive.
Relatively few instances can be considered direct borrowings from Tamil, as most of the borrowed forms have
entered English through European languages, such as Portuguese or Dutch (the Portuguese and Dutch were among
the first Europeans to have traded with South India), Arabic, Persian or Hindi-Urdu.

English words borrowed directly from Tamil

1.
2.
3.
4.

bandy meaning "ox-cart" from the Tamil word "vandy".

The word "Tamil" itself
alvar : from Tamil lvr, derivative of r- sink, be absorbed (as in contemplation)[1]
bandana : from Sanskrit bandhan, "a bond". From Tamil pantham "a bond",pathu "hold together,
attachment", atta "hold tightly, a leech", ottu "stick", othu "bind together, make love"

5. catamaran: from Tamil kattumaram ("kattu"=tie up, "maram"=tree/wood) (Source: OED, AHD,
MWD)
6. corundum: from a Tamil word for 'ruby', kuruntham or kuruvintham (Source: OED)
7. kabaddi : From the Tamil word (-) "kai" (hand), "pidi" (catch), which could be translated into
"Holding Hands".[2]
8. mulligatawny: from Tamil milagu-tanneer from milagu black pepper and tanneer, water
(Source: OED, AHD, MWD)
9. mung bean : from Tamil mngu, ultimately from Sanskrit mudga[3]
10. pariah: from Tamil paaiyar, plural of paaiya "drummer". The meaning of "drummer"
dates to 1613 (via Portuguese ?), but the current extended meaning of "outcast" for pariah is first attested in 1819.
(Source: OED, AHD, MWD)
11. patchouli: from Tamil pachchai (green), and ellai (leaf).[4]
12. pandal: from Tamil pandhal (Source: OED)
13. tutenag: from Tamil thuthanaagam meaning "raw zinc" (Source: OED)
14. verandah or veranda : from Tamil veruntharai - Verum (empty) + tharai (floor
or space) - A roofed opened gallery
15. vetiver: from Tamil vettiver; a tropical Indian grass; Botanical name: Vetiveria zizanioides; its
aromatic roots are used for weaving screens and baskets and the oil in perfumery (source: AHD)
16. anicut: from Tamil anaikattu, ("anai"=dam, "kattu"=building/structure) (source:MWD)
17. Palmyra: from Tamil Pannamarrum/Pannai, (Marram = Tree)
18. sambal : through Afrikaans, Malay, and Tamil [5]
19. anaconda : possibly from Tamil yaanai kondra, "(that) which killed an elephant".[6] OED
gives derivation from Tamil anai-kondra (anaik-konda), meaning "which killed an elephant.[7] AHD, MWD,
New Oxford American Dictionary give origin from Sinhalese henakaday, "whipsnake".
20. cash : Of disputed origin. The primary meaning of the word cash, "paper money", or "money" in general, may
be from French caisse, Provenal caissa, Italian cassa "money box" from Vulgar Latin capsa "chest, box". A
secondary meaning of cash, referring to any of the various coins used in southern India and China, could be from
Malayalam or Tamil ksu (Source: OED, AHD, MWD)[8]
21. coolie : Of disputed origin. OED states Tamil is proposed by some as the language of origin, from cooli
a Tamil word for "labour". Alternatively, it could refer to a tribe from Gujarat, whose members were frequently
employed as manual laborers.
22. ginger: The English word ginger is derived from the Middle English gingivere, which in turn comes from Old
English gingifer and from Old French gingivre, both from Medieval Latin gingiber. The Latin word is derived

List of English words of Tamil origin

from Greek zingiberis, of Middle Indic origin (akin to Pali singiveram), from Dravidian roots,
akin to Tamil icivr ici = ginger (of southeast Asian origin) + Tamil vr =
root.
23. godown : via Malay gudang, from a Dravidian origin, cf. Kannada gadangu, Tamil ()
Kittangi (kidangu/kodangu) "store room" (Source: OED)
24. Moringa : exact origin unknown, cf. Tamil murungai , Tamil word for drumstick (Source: OED,
AHD)

English words that ultimately have a Tamil origin

1. ape : From Middle English, from Old English apa (ape, monkey), from Proto-Germanic *ap (monkey, ape),
from Proto-Indo-European *ab- (ape). Cognate with Dutch aap (monkey, ape), Low German ape (ape),
German Affe (monkey, ape), Swedish apa (ape), Icelandic api (ape). Bible Dictionary : an animal of the
monkey tribe (1 Kings 10:22; 2 Chr. 9:21). It was brought from India by the fleets of Solomon and Hiram, and
was called by the Hebrews _koph_, and by the Greeks _kepos_, both words being just the Indian Tamil name of
the monkey, kapi, i.e., swift, nimble, active. No species of ape has ever been found in Palestine or the adjacent
regions.[9]
2. Beryl : from Old French beryl, via Latin beryllus, Greek and Prakrit (veluriya) ultimately from
Sanskrit vaidrya, of Dravidian origin, maybe from the name of Belur.[10]
3. candy : late 13c., "crystalized sugar," from O.Fr. ucre candi "sugar candy," ultimately from Arabic qandi, from
Pers. qand "cane sugar," probably from Skt. khanda "piece (of sugar)," perhaps from Dravidian (cf. Tamil kantu
"candy," kattu "to harden, condense"). As a verb, attested from 1530s; hence, candied (c.1600).[11]
4. cheroot : via French cheroute, from Tamil suruu, roll or rolled (Source: OED, AHD, MWD)
5. cheetah : via Sanskrit chitra-s "uniquely marked", from Tamil 'chiruthai'[12]
6. Cochin-china : old name of a region and French colony in southern Vietnam, from Fr. Cochin-China, from
Portuguese corruption of Ko-chen, of uncertain meaning; the China added to distinguish it from the town and port
of Cochin in southwest India, the name of which is Tamil, perhaps from koncham "little," in reference
to the river there.[13]
7. cot : "small bed", 1630s via Hindi khat "couch, hammock," from Skt. khatva (Dravidian source: Tamil
kattil "bedstead").[14]
8. cowrie : "small shell", via Hindi and Urdu kauri, from Mahrati kavadi, from Skt. kaparda (Source : Tamil
kotu "shell").[15]
9. cowry : "small shell", via Hindi and Urdu kauri, from Mahrati kavadi, from Skt. kaparda (Source : Tamil
kotu "shell").[15][16]
10. curry : via Hindi-Urdu from Tamil kai "sauce" (Source: OED, AHD, MWD)
11. Jaggery : via Portuguese jgara, jagre and Malayalam chakkara perhaps ultimately from Sanskrit
sarkara derived from proto-Dravidian (proto-Tamil).[17]
12. pagoda : 1580s, from Port. pagode (early 16c.), from a corruption of Pers. butkada, from but "idol" + kada
"dwelling." Or perhaps from or influenced by Tamil pagavadi "house belonging to a deity," from Skt. bhagavati
"goddess," fem. of bhagavat "blessed, adorable," from *bhagah "good fortune," from PIE base *bhag- "to share
out, apportion".[18]
13. Orange : through Old French orenge, Medieval Latin orenge and Italian arancia from Arabic naranj, via
Persian narang and Sanskrit naranga-s meaning "an orange tree", derived either from Tamil
naaraththam orange, narantham orange, or naarangam mandarin-orange, with +
= naaraththangaay in current popular usage .[19][20]
14. peacock : poucock, from M.E. po "peacock" + coc (see cock (n.)). Po is from O.E. pawa "peafowl," from L.
pavo (gen. pavonis), which, with Gk. taos said to be ultimately from Tamil tokei[21] (but perhaps is imitative;
Latin represented the peacock's sound as paupulo). The Latin word also is the source of O.H.G. pfawo, Ger. Pfau,

List of English words of Tamil origin

Du. pauw, O.C.S. pavu. Used as the type of a vainglorious person from late 14c. Its flesh superstitiously believed
to be incorruptible (even St. Augustine credits this). "When he sees his feet, he screams wildly, thinking that they
are not in keeping with the rest of his body."[22]
15. poppadom : via Hindi-Urdu or Punjabi, from Malayalam or Tamil pappaam, ultimately Sanskrit
parpaa "a kind of thin cake made of rice or pease-meal and baked in grease" or "a thin crisp cake" (Source:
OED)
16. portia tree : ultimately from Tamil puvarasu (Source: OED)
17. rice : The English word rice is not borrowed from the Greek word "oruza" ((.) ), as previously
thought (and found in older handbooks), nor is it a direct borrowing from Tamil arici. The relation
between Engl. rice and Tamil arici is in fact more complicated, as demonstrated in more recent
researches. Although Engl. rice is indeed ultimately from (Old) Tamil, the "rice" word has entered English,
through several intermediary languages, notably via Church Latin, (Old) French, (Old) Spanish, (Old) Italian and
Arabic.[23]
18. navigate : From Middle English navigate, from Latin navigo, from nvis (ship) + ag (do), from
Proto-Indo-European *nau- (boat), possibly, from Tamil (nvi).
19. Singh : via Hindi Singh finally from Sanskrit simhah which means "a lion", from Tamil
singam[24]
20. sugar : through Old French sucre, Italian zucchero, Medieval Latin succarum, Arabic: sukkar and Persian:
shakar ultimately from Sanskrit sharkara which means "ground or candied sugar" (originally "grit" or
"gravel"), from Tamil sakkarai.[25]
"Mango" derived from Tamil "Maangaay" a Tamil word for an unripe mango.

Words of Tamil and also Malayalam origin

Malayalam is a close sister language of modern Tamil, both of which go back to Old Tamil, the oldest attested
member of the Dravidian language family. The following English words of Tamil origin were borrowed from
Malayalam and/or Tamil.
1. betel : from Malayalam vettila; Tamil vettrilai: "vettru"=plant name +
"ilai"=leaf, (Source: OED)
2. coir : probably from Malayalam kayar, Tamil '' "kayiru" for rope or thread or to be twisted.
(Source: The American Heritage Dictionary)
3. copra : from the Malayalam word koppara, coconut kernel or Tamil kopparai /
koppara or Telugu word kobbera(Source: OED, AHD, MWD)
4. Malayalam : from Malayalam Malayalam, from Tamil malai, mountain, tract of land,
coastal land [26]
5. Kerala : from Tamil hill; name of ancient Chera kingdom in hilly Kerala region, tract of land,
coastal land [26]
6. mango : from maangaai, Malayalam borrowing from TAMIL {[Maa (big) + Kaai (unripe fruit) =
maangaai}. Final -o of Engl. mango is unexplained. (Sources: OED, http://www.etymonline.com/index.
php?search=mango&searchmode=none)
7. teak: via Portuguese teca, Malay tekka, from Malayalam thekku, from Tamil thekku
8. jackfruit:The word "jackfruit" comes from Portuguese jaca, which in turn, is derived from the Malayalam and
Tamil language term, chakka (Malayalam Chakka palam(Tamil): ).

List of English words of Tamil origin

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 (MWD). It is noted when the dictionaries' etymologies do
not agree.

References
[1] "Alvar | Define Alvar at Dictionary.com" (http:/ / dictionary. reference. com/ browse/ alvar). Dictionary.reference.com. . Retrieved
2012-08-22.
[2] esky. "Kabaddi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia" (http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Kabaddi). En.wikipedia.org. . Retrieved 2012-08-22.
[3] "Mung bean | Define Mung bean at Dictionary.com" (http:/ / dictionary. reference. com/ browse/ mung+ bean). Dictionary.reference.com. .
Retrieved 2012-08-22.
[4] Online Etymology Dictionary (http:/ / www. etymonline. com/ index. php?search=patchouli+ & searchmode=none)
[5] American Heritage Dictionary Sambal (http:/ / www. bartleby. com/ 61/ 37/ S0053700. html)
[6] National Geographic (http:/ / news. nationalgeographic. com/ news/ 2002/ 08/ photogalleries/ 0802_snakes1. html) - "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."
[7] Oxford. 1991. The Compact Oxford English Dictionary. Second Edition. Clarendon Press, Oxford. ISBN 0-19-861258-3.
[8] "Cash | Define Cash at Dictionary.com" (http:/ / dictionary. reference. com/ browse/ cash). Dictionary.reference.com. . Retrieved 2012-08-22.
[9] "Ape | Define Ape at Dictionary.com" (http:/ / dictionary. reference. com/ browse/ ape). Dictionary.reference.com. . Retrieved 2012-08-22.
[10] Harper, Douglas. "beryl" (http:/ / www. etymonline. com/ index. php?term=beryl). Online Etymology Dictionary. .
[11] "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http:/ / www. etymonline. com/ index. php?term=candy& allowed_in_frame=0). Etymonline.com. .
Retrieved 2012-08-22.
[12] Harper, Douglas. "chit" (http:/ / www. etymonline. com/ index. php?term=chit). Online Etymology Dictionary. .
[13] "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http:/ / www. etymonline. com/ index. php?term=Cochin-china& allowed_in_frame=0). Etymonline.com. .
Retrieved 2012-08-22.
[14] "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http:/ / www. etymonline. com/ index. php?term=cot& allowed_in_frame=0). Etymonline.com. . Retrieved
2012-08-22.
[15] "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http:/ / www. etymonline. com/ index. php?term=cowrie& allowed_in_frame=0). Etymonline.com. .
Retrieved 2012-08-22.
[16] "Cowry | Define Cowry at Dictionary.com" (http:/ / dictionary. reference. com/ browse/ cowry). Dictionary.reference.com. . Retrieved
2012-08-22.
[17] American Heritage Dictionary Jaggery (http:/ / www. bartleby. com/ 61/ 93/ J0009300. html)
[18] "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http:/ / www. etymonline. com/ index. php?term=pagoda& allowed_in_frame=0). Etymonline.com. .
Retrieved 2012-08-22.
[19] "J. P. Fabricius Tamil and English Dictionary" (http:/ / dsal. uchicago. edu/ cgi-bin/ romadict. pl?query=orange& table=fabricius). Fabricius,
Johann Philipp. J. P. Fabricius's Tamil and English dictionary. 4th ed., rev.and enl. Tranquebar: Evangelical Lutheran Mission Pub. House,
1972 via Univ. of Chicago's Digital Dictionaries of South Asia.. . Retrieved 2012-11-21.
[20] Harper, Douglas. "orange" (http:/ / www. etymonline. com/ index. php?term=orange). Online Etymology Dictionary. .
[21] "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http:/ / www. etymonline. com/ index. php?term=peacock& allowed_in_frame=0). Etymonline.com. .
Retrieved 2012-08-22.
[22] "Peacock | Define Peacock at Dictionary.com" (http:/ / dictionary. reference. com/ browse/ peacock). Dictionary.reference.com. . Retrieved
2012-08-22.
[23] The term for "rice" (and other related terms, such as pilaf, pilau, etc.) is actually a very ancient Wanderwort that came with the spread of rice
cultivation across Asia since the 3rd millennium BCE. The Tamil word goes back to the ancestral Proto-Dravidian form *(v)ari, *variki,
which in turn may have been borrowed from Munda *-rig at around 1500 BCE. The Northern Dravidian continuations of Proto-Dravidian
*(v)ari, *variki were subsequently transmitted to the Middle East, hence Middle Persian brinj, New Persian berenj, Pashto wria "(uncooked)
rice". The Greek form ruza must have been borrowed from an Iranian source in order to account for the labial element o-. On the other hand,
the more recent European forms, Engl. rice, German Reis, French riz, Italian riso, Spanish arroz, etc. have taken a different route, viz. via
Arabic al-ruz (al- is the definite article in Arabic), which is closer to the Tamil form. The fact that Tamil arici (or sim.) has entered Arabic, is
further sign of the extensive trade between Arab merchants and their Southern Indian counterparts, probably by sea. See further Witzel
"Substrate Languages in Old Indo-Aryan", Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies, vol 5, no. 1, 1999, p. 26 ff.
[24] Harper, Douglas. "Singh" (http:/ / www. etymonline. com/ index. php?term=Singh). Online Etymology Dictionary. .
[25] Harper, Douglas. "sugar" (http:/ / www. etymonline. com/ index. php?term=sugar). Online Etymology Dictionary. .
[26] "TamilNet Etymology for Sinhala / Chingka'lam / Ceylon" (http:/ / www. tamilnet. com/ art. html?catid=98& artid=30799). TamilNet.com. .
Retrieved 2012-11-21.

List of English words of Tamil origin

External links
Category: Tamil derivations (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:Tamil_derivations) in Wiktionary
Etymology of Selected Words of Indian Language Origin (http://www.wmich.edu/dialogues/themes/
indianwords.htm) in Colonial & Postcolonial Literary Dialogues
Tracking Tamil words in English - Gregory James (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/
For-this-professor-tracking-Tamil-words-in-English-is-a-passion/articleshow/7330317.cms)

Article Sources and Contributors

Article Sources and Contributors

List of English words of Tamil origin Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=538026722 Contributors: 12pavan34, Alangar Manickam, Ambarish, Anbu121, Ansumang, Arulraja,
Arunprabu.v, Aswinjerry, Atnadar, Avedeus, Bhadani, Bharatveer, Bodmon5, Boynextdoor6, CalicoCatLover, Can't sleep, clown will eat me, Chancemill, Chandarsubramanian, Chathurank,
Colfer2, Cribananda, DaGizza, Doctorbruno, DynamoDegsy, Eliduwiki, Fylbecatulous, Gene Nygaard, Goethean, Happysailor, Hraefen, Icey, Inbamkumar86, JamesAM, Jayarathina, Jithya, John
Vandenberg, KRS, Kanatonian, Karthik1905, KillerChihuahua, Krishnasamy venugopal, LarryBH, Lifebonzza, LilHelpa, Little Mountain 5, Macronimenon, Manuspanicker, Mariano Anto Bruno
Mascarenhas, Markaci, Mike Dillon, Mogism, Mr pand, Murali34, Muraray, Na Chozhan, Nick Number, Nik42, Nneonneo, Nohat, Obi2canibe, Otto4711, Pandbar, Paramesh123, Pink dragon
with polka dots, Plek, Pne, Ptprabu, Quinsareth, Rajaram Sarangapani, Ravichandar84, Rayfield, Rd232, Rich Farmbrough, Sanidu, Sarvagnya, Seyon1, Singamugan, Sivaraj,
SubContinentalGuru, Sundar, TRYPPN, Template namespace initialisation script, Theanphibian, Titodutta, Tlsankar, Uncle G, Usien6, V1oletv, VAP+VYK, Vadakkan, Vasudevmb, Vayalir,
Venu62, Viriditas, Wiki Raja, Wikiality123, Zhoroscop, 174 anonymous edits

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