paria (Spanish)
Where does "paria" come from?
The Spanish word 'paria' traces its roots back to the Tamil term 'paṟaiyar,' which originally designated a specific group of drummers who played the 'paṟai' drum. Over time, the term was adopted by colonial powers and shifted in meaning from a caste name to a general term for an outcast or someone rejected by society.
Full etymology tree
- paria (Spanish), 'pariah, outcast'
- learned borrowing paṟaiyar (paṟaiyar) (Tamil)
- compound paṟai (paṟai) (Tamil)
- inherited *-ar (Proto-Dravidian), 'human plural marker'
- learned borrowing paṟayaṟ (paṟayaṟ) (Malayalam)
- derived paṟayaṉ (paṟayaṉ) (Malayalam)
- derived paṟa (paṟa) (Malayalam)
- derived paṟayaṉ (paṟayaṉ) (Malayalam)
- learned borrowing paṟaiyar (paṟaiyar) (Tamil)
Ancestors
- பறையர் (Tamil)
Updated June 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris