Tamil

noun

Tam·​il ˈta-məl  ˈtä- 

1

: a Dravidian language of Tamil Nadu state, India, and of northern and eastern Sri Lanka

2

: a Tamil-speaking person or a descendant of Tamil-speaking ancestors

Examples of Tamil in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The two-day conference, inaugurated by Haasan alongside actor and producer Udhayanidhi Stalin, who now serves as the Deputy Chief Minister of the state of Tamil Nadu, arrives as South Indian entertainment continues to flex its muscle in the global marketplace. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 21 Feb. 2025

Dammers was born in 1955 in Tamil Nadu, where his father, Horace, served as a chaplain at a missionary school. —Ian Penman, Harper's Magazine, 19 Feb. 2025

Chennai, the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu, is one of India's largest cities and a major cultural and economic hub. —Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 16 Feb. 2025

The small state Kerala speaks a language called Malayalam, but the creative output from there is so high that movies and short series produced from there have the highest viewership in the Hindi belt, followed by Tamil. —Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 13 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Tamil Tamiẓ; akin to Pali Damiḷa, a Dravidian-speaking people, Sanskrit Dravida

First Known Use

1734, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for Tamil

• anthill
• backfill
• bluegill
• crossbill
• distil
• distill
• downhill
• dunghill
• foothill
• fulfil
• fulfill
• goodwill