Editing Carnatic region (section)

==Etymology==
{{improve sources|date=July 2019}}
A number of theories exist as to the derivation of the term ''Carnatic'' or ''Karnatic''.

According to Bishop [[Robert Caldwell]], in his ''Comparative Grammar of the [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian Languages]]'', the term is derived from ''Kar'', "black", and ''nadu,'' "country", i.e. "the black country", which refers to the [[Chernozem|black soil]] prevalent on the plateau of the Southern [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]].<ref name=EB1911>{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Carnatic|volume=5|pages=361–362}}</ref>

When the [[British Empire|English]] settled on the East Coast, all South India, from the river Krishna to Cape Comorin, was under the rule of a [[Vijaynagara Empire|Kanarese dynasty]], reigning at Vijayanagar, and was known as the Karnataka Realm. Hence the name "Carnatic" has come to be popularly applied to the coastal plains south of Madras, although these are Tamil-speaking
districts and quite outside the Kanarese country proper.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rice |first1=Edward Peter |title=A history of Kanarese literature |date=1921 |page=12 |url=https://archive.org/details/kanareseliteratu00rice/page/12/mode/1up}}</ref>