epicenter
‘point on the earth's surface directly above the center or focus of an earthquake’
Lexical development traced from the Tamil root:
E. epicenter, epicentre < Mod.Lat. epicentrum < epi- + center < O.F. centre < Lat. centrum ‘center’ (the fixed point of the two points of a drafting compass) < Gk. kentron ‘sharp point, goad, sting of a wasp’ < kentein ‘stitch’ < sent < kent- < Tamil kaṇṭam