Tamil Lexicon dictionary

[2] The revised edition of the dictionary will include words taken from secondary sources like modern and old literary works, newspapers, scientific journals and inscriptions.

[citation needed] Lexicons of the earlier period were not arranged alphabetically but metrically, on the basis of the first-letter rhyme, a characteristic of Tamil poetry.

Citing lack of scholars in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), it then sought the help of the Madras branch of the Christian Literature Society.

[4] G. U. Pope, upon hearing of these plans, offered to give his collection of material for an exhaustive lexicon of the Tamil language.

In 1909, his son came to Madras with his father's papers and donated them to the Oriental Manuscripts Library, permitting the use of the material for any new Tamil dictionary.

In 1910, J. S. Chandler of the American Mission, then residing in Kodaikanal, forwarded a proposal to the Madras government on the new Tamil dictionary project.

Chandler, who was nominated by South Indian missionaries, was appointed chairman of the committee and was asked to work full-time as editor of the project.

Incidentally, the Tamil typewriter used for the project, with a keyboard developed by Yost of the American Mission, was the first to be ever used in an office in India.

Further delays resulted in the final volume of the dictionary getting published only in 1936, with Pillai continuing as editor till the project was completed in 1939.

V. Murugan, one of the members of the expert committee who subsequently resigned, sent a detailed note to the Madras University's Tamil department, listing the errors.