What does "dravidian" mean?
A member of any of several aboriginal peoples of India and Sri Lanka thought to have spread in India before Aryan migration.
Dravidian
/dɹəˈvɪdɪən/ adj, name, noun
adj, name, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A member of any of several aboriginal peoples of India and Sri Lanka thought to have spread in India before Aryan migration.
- Grammar: dravidian is listed as adj, name, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: dravidic, dravidian language, dravidian language family, dravidian languages group.
- Useful contrasts: Indo Aryan, Indo Aryan languages, non Dravidian.
- Usage evidence: Of the Dravidian languages, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam have the most speakers.
How to use "dravidian"
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- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
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Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "dravidian" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "dravidian" is acting as adj, name, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
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3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 A member of any of several aboriginal peoples of India and Sri Lanka thought to have spread in India before Aryan migration.
- 2 a large family of languages spoken in south and central India and Sri Lanka, as well as overseas in Malaysia and Singapore wordnet
- 3 a member of one of the aboriginal inhabitants of India wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Of or relating to the Dravidian people or language.
Proper Noun
- 1 A family of related ethnicities and languages primarily in Southern India, Northeast Sri Lanka, and parts of Pakistan and Bangladesh.
- 2 Any of the languages of these aboriginal peoples; Dravidic.
Synonyms
All synonyms dravidicdravidian languagedravidian language familydravidian languages groupdravidian persondravidian speaker
Antonyms
Indo AryanIndo Aryan languagesnon Dravidiannon Dravidian architecture
Example
"Of the Dravidian languages, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam have the most speakers."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "dravidian"?
Common synonyms include: dravidic, dravidian language, dravidian language family, dravidian languages group, dravidian person, dravidian speaker.
How do you use "dravidian" in a sentence?
Of the Dravidian languages, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam have the most speakers.
How do you pronounce "dravidian"?
Pronounced /dɹəˈvɪdɪən/.
Etymology
From Sanskrit द्राविड (drāviḍa) + -ian. *tamiḻ > *damiḷ > damiḷa- / damila- and further, with the intrusive, 'hypercorrect' (or perhaps analogical) -r-, into dr(a/ā)viḍa.