Etymology

mudaliyar

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Today it means: A chief or headman in Sri Lanka. Full definition →

First used 17th c.Tamil முதலியார் ← Portuguese modeliar
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The story

  1. Portuguese · derived frommodeliar
  2. Tamil · derived fromமுதலியார்
  3. English todaymudaliyar

From Tamil முதலியார் (mutaliyār) (plural of முதலி (mutali, “chief”)), in early forms probably via Portuguese modeliar.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 17th c. A chief or headman in Sri Lanka.
  • from 19th c. A Tamil caste in India.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.