Who created the word Dravidam?

Robert A. Caldwell
The actual term Dravidian was first employed by Robert A. Caldwell, who introduced the Sanskrit word dravida (which, in a 7th-century text, obviously meant Tamil) into his epoch-making A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian or South Indian Family of Languages (1856).

What is Dravidam English?

noun. 1. a family of languages spoken in S and central India and Sri Lanka, including Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, and Gondi. 2. a member of one of the indigenous races of India, pushed south by the Indo-Europeans and now mixed with them.

What is the origin of the English word Dravidian?

The English word Dravidian was first employed by Robert Caldwell in his 1856 book of comparative Dravidian grammar based on the usage of the Sanskrit word dravi?a in the work Tantravarttika by Kumarila Bha??a (Zvelebil 1990).

What is the origin of the Tamil word ‘dravidha’?

Joseph (1989: IJDL 18.2:134-42) gives extensive references to the use of the term draviḍa, dramila first as the name of a people, then of a country. Sinhala BCE inscriptions cite dameḍa -, damela – denoting Tamil merchants.

What is the etymology of the Sanskrit word Veda?

The Etymology of the Sanskrit word “Veda” is given as ‘sacred knowledge’ at present.This etymology is not supported by any evidence by way of presence of related or link words in Sanskrit . One who sows ‘knowledge’ is ‘Vithuvan'(வித்வான் ) which means ‘expert’ in Tamil. ‘Vitham’ is ‘variety’ in Tamil.

Which is the oldest Dravidian language in India?

Four Dravidian languages, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu, have lengthy literary traditions. Literature in Tulu and Kodava is more recent. The earliest known Dravidian inscriptions are 76 Old Tamil inscriptions on cave walls in Madurai and Tirunelveli districts in Tamil Nadu, dating from the 2nd century BCE.