Tamil loanwords in other languages

Tamil is an old language and due to its contact with the other languages from historical times, there are many loanwords from Tamil that are found in the other languages.

In English

Gregory James, a professor with the language center of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology believes that more than 100 words in the Oxford English Dictionary have Tamil origin, and there could be even more.[1] The third edition of the OED, published online since 2000, contains approximately 400,000 words.[2]

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
English wordTamil wordTransliterationMeaning in English
Catamaranகட்டுமரம்kattumaramtied wood[3]
Cherootசுருட்டுsuruṭṭuroll[4]
CoirகயிறுKayiruCoconut fibre
RiceஅரிசிAriciRice
Anicutஅணைக்கட்டுAnaikattuAnicut/Dam
Corundumகுருந்தம்/குருவிந்தம்kuruntham/kuruvinthamruby[5]
Mangoமாங்காய்MaangaaiMango
Mulligatawnyமிளகுத்தண்ணிmiḷaku-taṇṇīr/milaguthannipepper water[6]
Patchouliபச்சை இலைpachchai ilaigreen leaf[7]
Pandalபந்தல்pandhaltemporary shelter[8]
Ginger இஞ்சி வேர் Inji ver Ginger Root

In Malay

Loanwords from Tamil, mainly exist in cuisine, like Chinese and unlike Sanskrit. It mainly entered the lexicon of Classical Malay (and by extension, its Modern and Indonesian variants) with the immigration of South Indian traders who settled around the Strait of Malacca.

Malay wordTamil wordTransliterationMeaning in English
apamஅப்பம்apamkind of cake or Hoppers
bendiவெண்டிvendiokra/lady's finger
gulaigulaikind of curry
hartaஅர்த்தம்arttamMeaning
kapalகப்பல்kappalboat
kedaiகடைkadaifoodstall
kuilகோயில்koyiltemple/shrine
kolamகுளம்kulamPool of water
kotaகோட்டைKottaifort
manggaமாங்காய்mangkaimango
petaபடம்Paṭaṁmap
rotirottibread
samaசமம்sama/samamsame
singaசிங்கம்singamlion
topitoppihat

In Mauritian Creole

Creole Tamil Meaning
KaliKalliName of a plant
NotchiNotchiName of a plant
Mourouk (Muruku)MurungaiName of a tree
VetivertVettiverName of a plant
AttAttaName of a fruit
GoyaveKoyyuName of a fruit
PipangayePeerkanggayeName of a vegetable
MourroungMurungai (முருங்கை)Moringa
PatolPudolName of a vegetable
AvraykaAvaraykayeName of a vegetable
KotarangaKottuvarangayeName of a vegetable
KotomiliKottumalliName of a vegetable
KaroupillayKaruvepilayName of a vegetable
BetelVettrilayeName of a vegetable
PakPakuName of a vegetable
PutuPittuName of a cake
OundayOuroundayName of a cake
MourkouMouroukkouName of a snacks
Ayo!Ayyo!Exclamation

In Sinhala

Sinhala words of Tamil origin came about as part of the more than 2,000 years of language interactions between Sinhala and Tamil in the island of Sri Lanka.

In Sinhala words

In the following list, Tamil words are romanised in accordance with Tamil spelling. This results in seeming discrepancies in voicing between Sinhala words and their Tamil counterparts. Sinhala borrowing however has taken place on the basis of the sound of the Tamil words; thus, the word ampalam, [ambalam], logically results in the Sinhala spelling ambalama, and so forth. However, the Tamil language used here for comparison is Tamil as spoken in Sri Lanka.

In Sinhala verbs

Several verbs have been adopted into Sinhala from the Tamil language. The vast majority of these are compound verbs consisting of a Tamil origin primary verb and a Sinhala origin light verb.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "For this professor, tracking Tamil words in English is a passion". Times of India. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  2. ↑ Simpson, John (2000). "Preface to the Third Edition of the OED". Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  3. ↑ "Catamaran; Define Catamaran at Dictionary.com". Dictionary.reference.com. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  4. ↑ "Cheroot; Define Cheroot at Dictionary.com". Dictionary.reference.com. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  5. ↑ "Corundum; Define Corundum at Dictionary.com". Dictionary.reference.com. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  6. ↑ "mulligatawny, n.". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2003.
  7. ↑ "patchouli". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  8. ↑ "Pandal; Define Pandal at Dictionary.com". Dictionary.reference.com. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  9. ↑ Mar Thomma Margam by Pathikulangara Varghese Kathanar
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