Definition of "pottu" [pottu]

• The circular caste-mark worn on the forehead of a Brahman. (noun)

The Century Dictionary (Public Domain)

• "But gone are the days when Tamils mingled freely, where women wore heavy gold jewellery and the distinctive "pottu", the red-dot on their foreheads which instantly identified them as a Tamil Hindu and is now rarely seen."
• "But gone are the days when Tamils mingled freely, where women wore heavy gold jewellery and the distinctive "pottu," the red-dot on their foreheads which instantly identified them as a Tamil Hindu and is now rarely seen."
• "The Taliban needed the women to be veiled and excluded from public spaces, while in Colombo the Tamil women must not wear the 'pottu' (the red decoration on the forehead) to avoid harassment and humiliation by the agents of the Sinhala chauvinistic state."