tamil
tamil — adjective
1. connected with the Tamil people, who come mainly from the state of Tamil Nadu in
connected with the Tamil people, who come mainly from the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India and from northern and eastern Sri Lanka, or with their language or culture.
The Tamil film industry in Chennai produces hundreds of new movies every year.
modifier: Tamil + noun (film industry)
Anjali's grandmother taught her how to make traditional Tamil sweets for Pongal.
collocation: traditional Tamil + noun
The museum has a large collection of ancient Tamil bronze statues from the Chola period.
Rania signed up for a Tamil language class at the community centre near her flat.
modifier sequence: Tamil language
Tamil literature includes poetry and stories that go back more than two thousand years.
collocation: Tamil literature
- Tamil community
- Tamil culture
- Tamil film
- Tamil language
- Tamil literature
- Tamil music
- Tamil Nadu
Grammar Patterns
Tamil + noun
Usage Note
Always capitalised. This adjective form is used before a noun, as in 'Tamil culture' or 'Tamil cuisine'.
tamil — noun
1. the Dravidian language used by Tamil communities across southern India (especial
the Dravidian language used by Tamil communities across southern India (especially Tamil Nadu), throughout Sri Lanka, and in diaspora populations around the globe.
Eli is taking a beginner Tamil course at the university this semester.
verb + Tamil: take a course in Tamil
The sign at the airport was written in English, Tamil, and Sinhala.
preposition: in Tamil (written/spoken in a language)
Many classical Tamil poems were composed more than two thousand years ago.
modifier: classical Tamil (type of the language)
Christopher's grandfather taught him to read and write Tamil when he was a child.
phrasal pattern: read and write Tamil
Padma uses a language app to practise Tamil vocabulary for fifteen minutes each morning.
- speak Tamil
- learn Tamil
- in Tamil
- into Tamil
- conversational Tamil
- written Tamil
- modern Tamil
Grammar Patterns
speak / learn / write / read Tamil
Usage Note
When referring to the language, 'Tamil' is normally used without an article: 'She speaks Tamil' (not 'the Tamil'). Use 'the Tamil language' when a more formal style is needed.
Common Mistakes
2. a person who belongs to the Tamil ethnic group, whose roots are in southern Indi
a person who belongs to the Tamil ethnic group, whose roots are in southern India or Sri Lanka and whose native language is Tamil.
Marco's history project focused on how Tamils settled in Southeast Asia centuries ago.
plural: Tamils (group reference)
The Tamils have a long tradition of classical dance called Bharatanatyam.
Elena interviewed a Tamil from Kuala Lumpur about her family's food traditions.
indefinite article: a Tamil (one person)
Ada's grandmother is a Tamil who moved to London in the nineteen-sixties.
Many Tamils in Singapore celebrate the festival of Thaipusam every year.
regional reference: Tamils in [place]
- Tamil community
- Tamil diaspora
- ethnic Tamil
- Sri Lankan Tamil
- Indian Tamil
Grammar Patterns
a Tamil
the Tamils
Usage Note
The plural form is 'Tamils'. This sense is often used in phrases like 'the Tamil community' or 'Tamil diaspora' to refer to the group collectively.
Common Mistakes
Etymology
'Tamil' comes from the word 'Tamiḻ' (தமிழ்) in the Tamil language itself, a name that has been used for more than two thousand years. The term originally referred to the people and their Dravidian language in the southern part of the Indian subcontinent. It entered English through contact with Tamil-speaking regions during the colonial period.