Etymology
Apart from the English language terms South India and Peninsular India, southern India has been known by several other historic names. Adi Shankara coined the name Dravida in the 8th century as he called himself Dravida Shishu, meaning a child from South India (see etymology of Dravida). The term Deccan, an Anglicized form of the word "Dakhhin" which is a derived from the word dakshina meaning south, refers only to the area covered by the Deccan Plateau, a volcanic plateau that covers most of peninsular India excluding the coastal areas. The Carnatic is an English term derived from "Karnād" or "Karunād", meaning high country. The terms Karnād and Carnatic have long overgrown particular association with the plateau and refer to all of South India, including the coasts, the western of which is named the Carnatic coast. The name Karnātaka is derived from the same root.
Read more about this topic: South India
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)
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