Tamil

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Hindi जलाई (jalāī). According to folk etymology, the term comes from a Tamil speaker, with little knowledge of Hindi, reading a sign near a toilet and assuming जलाई (jalāī) meant "to defecate". The sign is thought to have said "Inflammable objects not allowed - Jalaaishi padaarth mana hai". However, this is doubtful.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /d͡ʑɐlaːjɪ/, [d͡ʑɐlaːji]
  • Hyphenation: ஜ‧லா‧யி
  • Rhymes: -ji

Verb

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ஜலாயி (jalāyi) (Madras Bashai, impolite)

  1. to defecate (transitive)

Conjugation

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References

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