Portuguese-based creole languages meaning "in" and/or "on", which would come from the Portuguese contraction "na" meaning "in the" (feminine singular). The Portuguese word for "creole" is "crioulo", which derives from the verb "criar" ("to raise", "to bring up") and a suffix "-oulo" of debated origin. Originally the word was used to distinguish the members of any ethnic group who were born and raised in the colonies from those who were born in their homeland. In Africa it was often applied to locally born people of (wholly or partly) Portuguese descent, as opposed to those born in Portugal; whereas in Brazil it was also
Panicker romanising Malayalam without diacritic marks, the name would be "Panikkar". However, Panikker, Panicker, Panickar, Paniker, Panikar, Panniker, and Pannikavannar, and other variants are found. Panicker Panicker (sometimes Panikkar) is an Indian title or last name. The "Dravidian Etymological Dictionary", entry number 3884, considers the word Panikkan as a word of Dravidian etymology, deriving from the Dravidian root word "Pani", meaning service, work etc. Panikkan could mean a person who commands as well as one who serves. The "DED" traces cognates of the word "Panikkan" in twelve Dravidian languages, besides Malayalam. The Portuguese traveller Duarte Barbosa said that "They are the