Tamil loanwords in Ancient Greek

Tamil loanwords entered the Greek language through the interactions of Mediterranean and South Indian merchants during different periods in history.

There is a general consensus about Tamil loanwords in Ancient Greek, while a few of the words have competing etymologies.

The mainstream view is that beginnings of trade between the Mediterranean and South India can be traced back to 500 BCE when the word zingíberis (ζιγγίβερις) derived from Proto-South Dravidian cinki-ver (சிங்கிவேர்) for Ginger first appeared in Greek and thus South India may have been involved in trade with the Mediterranean centuries earlier.

[5][6] A Pandyan king, based out of ancient Tamilaham sent embassies twice to Rome, wanting to become the Roman Emperors friend and ally.

[6] The Greek–South Indian relationships were impactful enough that a Greek play Charition mime was written with a Dravidian language presumed to be a coastal dialect of either Kannada or Tulu, speaker included in the play dated to 2nd century CE.

Silk Road and Spice trade , ancient trade routes that linked India with the Old World ; carried goods and ideas between the ancient civilisations of the Old World and India. The land routes are red, and the water routes are blue.