Kannadiga
/ˌkɑːnəˈdiːɡə/noun
A person who speaks Kannada or is from the Kannada-speaking cultural region of India.
Did you know?Kannadiga is a demonym built from Kannada, the Dravidian language name, and the suffix -iga, used to mean a person belonging to or associated with that language/community.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient/Medieval Dravidian
Dravidian
*kaṇḍa / *kaṇṇa (reconstructed)
“An early ancestral form behind the Kannada language name; the exact prehistoric source is uncertain.”
Early Historical Period
Kannada
ಕನ್ನಡ (kannaḍa)
“The Kannada language and, by extension, the Kannada-speaking people and their land.”
Medieval Kannada
Kannada
ಕನ್ನಡಿಗ (kannaḍiga)
“A Kannada person; someone belonging to the Kannada-speaking community.”
19th–20th Century
English
Kannadiga
“An English transliteration used in scholarship and general writing for a Kannada-speaking person.”
Modern English
English
Kannadiga
“A person from the Kannada-speaking community of southern India.”