-மை

Inherited from Proto-Dravidian *-may. Cognate with Kannada -ಮೆ (-me), Malayalam -മ (-ma).

• IPA^(key): /-mɐɪ̯/

-மை • (-mai)

1. added to nouns, adjectives or verbs to produce abstract nouns

   ‎வாய் (vāy, “mouth”) + ‎-மை (-mai) → ‎வாய்மை (vāymai, “truthfulness”)

   ‎நேர் (nēr, “straight”) + ‎-மை (-mai) → ‎நேர்மை (nērmai, “honesty”)

   ‎திற (tiṟa, “to open, let loose”) + ‎-மை (-mai) → ‎திறமை (tiṟamai, “talent, skill”)

   ‎நிலை (nilai, “state, level, condition”) + ‎-மை (-mai) → ‎நிலைமை (nilaimai, “situation”)

• Johann Philipp Fabricius, Na. Kadirvelu Pillai, David W. McAlpin, Rajagopal Subramanian, University of Madras, Miron Winslow (2022) “மை”, in Digital Dictionaries of South India [Combined Tamil Dictionaries]