Thenmarachchi is one of the three historic regions of Jaffna peninsula

Jaffna Peninsula

The Jaffna Peninsula is an area in Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is home to the capital city of the province, Jaffna and comprises much of the former land mass of the ancient Tamil kingdoms of the Nagas and the medieval Jaffna kingdom. The peninsula is mostly surrounded by water, connected to...

 in northern Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

. The other two regions are Vadamarachchi and Valikamam. Thenmarachchi is sometimes spelt Thenmarachi, Thenmaraachi or Thenmaraadchi. This area, like the entire Jaffna peninsula, is populated mostly by Tamil people and was for many years under the de facto control of the "Tamil Tigers".

Etymology

Thenmarachchi translates to "possession of southerners" or "rule of the southerners" in English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

. It is derived from the Tamil

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

words thenmar (southerners) and achchi (possession or rule).