Dravidian
- noun
- /drəˈvɪdiən/
:
dravídico
- The Dravidian languages include Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada, which are widely spoken in southern India.
Examples
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In Sri Lanka, the Dravidian languages are spoken by a significant portion of the population, influencing local culture.
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Many scholars study the Dravidian family of languages to understand their unique features and history.
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But does this prove that the these seals contain Dravidian names based on planets and star constellations?
Synonyms
A family of languages spoken mostly in southern and central India and Sri Lanka like Tamil and Telugu
Compounds
- Indian
A Dravidian language spoken in central India, for example Gondi
A family of languages like Tamil and Telugu spoken in southern India and Sri Lanka
- Specialized
A group of Dravidian languages spoken in eastern India, like Kurukh and Malto
- Specialized
A group of related languages spoken in eastern India like Kurukh and Malto
- Specialized
A group of Dravidian languages spoken in southern India like Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, and Tulu
- Specialized
A group of languages spoken in southern India, like Tamil or Kannada
- Specialized
A Dravidian language that people speak in south-central India
Surface Forms
Morphology
Dravidian = Dravid (semi-transparent) = Dravid + ian
The suffix '-ian' transparently marks 'relating to' or 'member of', but the base 'Dravid' is a proper name unfamiliar to many learners, so the full meaning is only partly recoverable.
Etymology
Dravidian comes from the Sanskrit word dravida, which means 'southern', so it names the family of languages spoken in southern India and nearby islands like Sri Lanka and parts of Malaysia.
