chennai

English - English

Definition of chennai in English English dictionary

State capital of Tamil Nadu (India), formerly known as Madras

{i} port city in southeastern India (formerly known as Madras)

formerly Madras City (pop., 2001 prelim.: city, 4,216,268; metro. area, 6,424,624), capital of Tamil Nadu state, India, on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. Founded in 1639 by the British East India Company as a fort and trading post, it was known as Fort St. George and was used as a base for the company's expansion in southern India. The city of St. Thomé, established by the Portuguese in the 16th century, was ceded to the British in 1749 and incorporated into it. The English made Chennai their administrative and commercial capital 1800. It is an industrial centre and the site of numerous educational and cultural institutions. It is traditionally considered the burial place of St. Thomas the Apostle

a city in Tamil Nadu on the Bay of Bengal; formerly Madras

Synonyms

madras

Etymology

() From the name of Chennappa Naicker, the Rajah of Chandragiri, a Telugu-speaker from Andhra Pradesh.