From soaps to lotions, shampoos to lip balms, the humble vetiver is a crowd favourite for its many healing properties. This fragrant Indian grass, vetiver, goes by the same name in English too, and is a popular ingredient in the natural cosmetics industry.

In ancient South India, vetiver was added to water in earthen pots to cleanse and cool the water. Cheroot is pronounced as shuroot, sounding a lot like where the word came from! 4. Thus, was born its English counterpart the cheroot, a cigar with both ends open. The Tamilians smoked churuttu, a roll of tobacco. Having this soup while suffering from a cold can provide you with great relief. What was milagu thanni travelled to the West and got re-christened mulligatawny. The name though retained the original formulation. As it travelled to the West, its name and flavours got anglicised to suit the Western palette.

Milagu thanni in Tamil means pepper water and a reference to the peppery dish, rasam. What was a way of life then, is now an activity for adventurists who take ‘catamaran’ rides in surfing towns. That’s how the word catamaran, a yacht or other boat with twin hulls in parallel, came into being. The Tamilians referred to this cool ride as kattumaram, literally, meaning logs tied together. William Dampier, a 17th century English adventurer, who visited South-eastern India, mentioned the primitive watercraft used by the village in his book, ‘A New Voyage Round the World’.

Tamil words in english language