dravidian

prop. a. [ From Skr. Drāvi&dsdot_;a, the name of the southern portion of the peninsula of India. ] (Ethnol.) Of or pertaining to the Dravida. [ 1913 Webster ]

Dravidian languages, a group of languages of Southern India, which seem to have been the idioms of the natives, before the invasion of tribes speaking Sanskrit. Of these languages, the Tamil is the most important; Telegu, Malayalam, and Kannada are included. These languages are distinct from the Indo-European family of languages. [ 1913 Webster ]