Dravidian
/drəˈvɪd.i.ən/noun
Relating to the Dravidian languages or the peoples associated with them, especially in southern India.
Did you know?The term was popularized in 19th-century scholarship to label the major language family of southern India, but the family itself is far older than the name pinned to it.
Etymological Timeline
19th Century
English
Dravidian
“A scholarly label for the languages and peoples of southern India”
19th Century
Latinized Sanskrit
Dravida
“A term used in Sanskrit for the Tamil region and its inhabitants”
Medieval Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Drāviḍa
“South Indian people or region, especially Tamil lands”
Ancient Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Draviḍa
“An ethnonym and regional designation in India”
Proto-Dravidian
PDr
*tamiḻ / *draviḍa?
“Reconstructed ancestral forms associated with the Dravidian language family”