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dravidian

 - 2 dictionary results

Dra⋅vid⋅i⋅an

  [druh-vid-ee-uhn]
Use dravidian in a Sentence
–noun
1. a family of languages, wholly distinct from Indo-European, spoken mostly in southern India and Sri Lanka and including Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and, in Pakistan, Brahui.
2. a member of the aboriginal population occupying much of southern India and parts of Sri Lanka.
–adjective
3. Also, Dra⋅vid⋅ic. of or pertaining to this people or their language.
Origin:
1855–60; < Skt Draviḍ(a) ethnonym + -ian
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Dra·vid·i·an   (drə-vĭd'ē-ən)   
n.  

  1. A large family of languages spoken especially in southern India and northern Sri Lanka that includes Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada.

  2. A member of any of the peoples that speak one of the Dravidian languages, especially a member of one of the pre-Indo-European peoples of southern India.


[From Sanskrit drāviḍaḥ, a Dravidian.]
Dra·vid'i·an, Dra·vid'ic (-vĭd'ĭk) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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