Editing Tamil language (section)

== Etymology ==
The earliest extant Tamil literary works and their commentaries celebrate the [[Pandiyan Kingdom|Pandiyan Kings]] for the organization of long-term [[Tamil Sangams]], which researched, developed and made amendments to the Tamil language. Although the name of the language which was developed by these Tamil Sangams is mentioned as Tamil, the period when the name "Tamil" came to be applied to the language is unclear, as is the precise etymology of the name. The earliest attested use of the name is found in [[Tholkappiyam]], which is dated as early as the 2nd century BCE.<ref>{{Harvnb|Zvelebil|1992|p=x}}</ref><ref name="Zvelebil 1973">{{Cite book|last=Zvelebil|first=Kamil|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=degUAAAAIAAJ&q=info:3mNeiVqlnhoJ:scholar.google.com/&pg=PR9|title=The Smile of Murugan: On Tamil Literature of South India|date=1973|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-03591-1}}</ref> The [[Hathigumpha inscription]], inscribed around a similar period (150 BCE) by [[Kharavela]], the Jain king of [[Kalinga (historical region)|Kalinga]], also refers to a ''Tamira Samghatta'' (''Tamil confederacy'').<ref name="Allen">{{cite book |last1=Allen |first1=Charles |title=Coromandel : a personal history of South India |date=2017 |publisher=Little, Brown |location=London |isbn=9781408705391 |page=9}}</ref>

The [[Samavayanga Sutra]], dated to the 3rd century BCE contains a reference to a Tamil script named 'Damili'.<ref>{{cite book|last=Jain|first=Sagarmal|title=Aspects of Jainology: Volume VI|year=1998|chapter=Jain Literature [From earliest time to c. 10th A.D.]}}</ref>

Southworth suggests that the name comes from {{IAST|tam-miḻ}} > {{IAST|tam-iḻ}} "self-speak", or "our own speech".<ref name="Southworth 1998 129–132">{{Harvnb|Southworth|1998|pp=129–132}}</ref> [[Kamil Zvelebil]] suggests an etymology of {{IAST|tam-iḻ}}, with {{IAST|tam}} meaning "self" or "one's self", and "{{IAST|-iḻ}}" having the connotation of "unfolding sound". Alternatively, he suggests a derivation of {{IAST|tamiḻ}} < {{IAST|tam-iḻ}} < *{{IAST|tav-iḻ}} < *{{IAST|tak-iḻ}}, meaning in origin "the proper process (of speaking)".<ref>{{Harvnb|Zvelebil|1992|p=ix–xvi}}</ref> However, this is deemed unlikely by Southworth due to the contemporary use of the compound 'centamiḻ', which means refined speech in the earliest literature.<ref name="Southworth 1998 129–132"/>

The Tamil Lexicon of the [[University of Madras]] defines the word "Tamil" as "sweetness".<ref>{{Citation|publisher=University of Madras |title=Tamil lexicon |place=Madras |year=1924–36 |url= https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/tamil-lex_query.py?qs=%E0%AE%A4%E0%AE%AE%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%B4%E0%AF%8D&searchhws=yes&matchtype=exact|access-date=26 October 2022 |postscript=.}} (Online edition at the University of Chicago)</ref> S. V. Subramanian suggests the meaning "sweet sound", from ''tam'' – "sweet" and ''il'' – "sound".<ref>{{Citation|last=Subramanian|first=S.V|title=Heritage of Tamils; Language and Grammar|year=1980|publisher=International Institute of Tamil Studies|pages=7–12}}</ref>

David Shulman cites Cuntaramurti's ''Tevaram'', in which he writes to [[Shiva]], "Do you know proper Tamil?" and ascribes it the meaning "Do you know how to behave properly as a male lover should? Can you understand the hints and implicit meaning that a proficient lover ought to be able to decipher?" He also states that at some point in history, Tamil meant something like "knowing how to love", in a poetic sense, and that to "know Tamil" could also mean "to be a civilized being".<ref>{{Citation|publisher = Harvard University Belknap Press | title = Tamil: A Biography | year = 2016 | url = https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674059924 | pages = 2}}</ref>