Indo-Aryan loanwords in Tamil

The Tamil language has absorbed a large number of Indo-Aryan, especially Sanskrit,  loanwords ever since the early 1st millennium CE, when the Sangam period Chola kingdoms became  influenced by  early Brahmanism. Many of these loans are obscured by adaptions to Tamil phonology. .

This is an illustrative list of Tamil words of Indo-Aryan origin, classified based on type of borrowing. The words are transliterated according to IAST system. All words have been referenced with the Madras University Tamil Lexicon, which is used as the most authoritative and standard lexicon by mainstream scholars. In the examples below, the second word is from Tamil, and its original Indo-Aryan source is placed to the left.

Change of final retroflex to dental

 * ambara - ampala

Loss of simple aspiration

 * ahaṃ  - akam

Loss of initial s

 * samayaṃ - amaiyam
 * sabhā - avai

Loss of initial complex consonant (retaining initial vowel)

 * śṛavaṇa - Āvaṇi (also note loss of initial complex consonant Śr

Loss of initial complex consonant (introduction of vowel)

 * ḥṛdaya - itaya (also loss of voicing)

Loss of voicing

 * agati - akati

Loss of voiced aspiration

 * adhikāra - atikāra
 * adhika - atika

Tatsama borrowing

 * aṇu - aṇu
 * nīti - nīti


 * maṇi - maṇi

Change of final sibilant to semivowel

 * Ākāśa - Ākāya

Change of medial sibilants to stops

 * aśuddha - acutta

Simplification of complex consonants
In the following words, the vowel i is added to the word-initial position before semivowels as per rules of Tamil grammar.


 * lakṣaṇaṃ - ilakkaṇam
 * lakṣyaṃ - ilakkiyam

Split of complex syllables

 * agni - akkini (gni to kini, also note loss of voicing)

Others

 * rājan - aracan
 * ahaṃkāram - akankāram
 * agastya - akattiya
 * ahambhāva - akampāvam
 * Āṣāḍha - Āḍi
 * Ārambha - Ārampam
 * kāvya - kāppiyam


 * kārttika - kārttikai


 * śvāsa - cuvācam


 * śani - cani


 * chitra - cittirai


 * budha - putan


 * phalguna - pankuni


 * manas - manatu
 * mārgaśīrSa - mārkazhi


 * māgha - māci


 * vaiśākha - vaikāci