Dravidian
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.
a member of the aboriginal population occupying much of southern India and parts of Sri Lanka.
Also Dra·vid·ic. of or relating to this people or their language.
Origin of Dravidian
1Other words from Dravidian
- pre-Dra·vid·i·an, adjective
- pre-Dra·vid·ic, adjective
Words Nearby Dravidian
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use Dravidian in a sentence
Even to-day infanticide still appears to be practised by some of the Dravidian tribes of Hindustan.
Elements of Folk Psychology | Wilhelm WundtIn the illimitable past it was this way that Dravidian peoples flocked down from Asiatic highlands to the borderland of India.
The Gates of India | Thomas HoldichIn India a Dravidian Paria acts as the temporary village priest.
Indian Myth and Legend | Donald Alexander MackenzieIt is equally certain that rites of undoubted Dravidian origin are to be observed among the Cham.
Indo-China and Its Primitive People | Henry BaudessonBuildings in the Dravidian style are very numerous in proportion to the extent of the area in which they are found.
British Dictionary definitions for Dravidian
/ (drəˈvɪdɪən) /
a family of languages spoken in S and central India and Sri Lanka, including Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, and Gondi
a member of one of the aboriginal races of India, pushed south by the Indo-Europeans and now mixed with them
denoting, belonging to, or relating to this family of languages or these peoples
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse