Thomas Prendergast (1806 – 14 November 1886) was a British administrator in the service of the East India Company, and the inventor of the "mastery system" of learning foreign languages.

Sir Jeffery served in the Mysore War, was knighted in 1838, promoted to the rank of general in 1854, and died in 1856, having married in 1804 Elizabeth, daughter of Hew Dalrymple of Nunraw.

Thomas was nominated a writer in the East India Company's service on 23 June 1826, and became assistant to the collector of Tanjore, Madras Presidency, in 1828.

By frequently repeating conversational sentences Prendergast had himself acquired the Madras vernacular, Tamil, and Telugu.

His system was to some extent a development of the Ollendorffian, but Prendergast elaborated its details on original lines.