This is a list of English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 words that are directly or ultimately of Tamil

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

 origin. The list is by no means exhaustive. Relatively few instances can be considered direct borrowings from Tamil, as most of the borrowed forms have entered English through European languages, such as Portuguese or Dutch (the Portuguese and Dutch were among the first Europeans to have traded with South India), Arabic, Persian or Hindi-Urdu.
catamaran

Catamaran

A catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...

: from Tamil கட்டுமரம் kattumaram ("kattu"=tie up, "maram"=tree/wood) (Source: OED, AHD, MWD)
corundum

Corundum

Corundum is a crystalline form of aluminium oxide with traces of iron, titanium and chromium. It is a rock-forming mineral. It is one of the naturally clear transparent materials, but can have different colors when impurities are present. Transparent specimens are used as gems, called ruby if red...

: from a Tamil word for 'ruby', குருந்தம் kuruntham or குருவிந்தம் kuruvintham (Source: OED)
mulligatawny

Mulligatawny

Mulligatawny is a curry-flavoured soup of Anglo-Indian origin.Translated literally from Tamil, "Mulligatawny" or "Milagu Thanni" means "pepper water" . The dish the Anglo-Indians call "pepper water" is actually closer to Tamilian ரசம்-Rasam than "mulligatawny".There are many variations on the...

: from Tamil மிளகுத்தண்ணீர் milagu-tanneer from milagu black pepper and tanneer, water (Source: OED, AHD, MWD)
pariah: from Tamil பறையர் paṟaiyar, plural of பறையன் paṟaiyaṉ "drummer".