# Urdu/Hindi/Punjabi: kursii



## Qureshpor

We are blessed with languages which draw their  vocabulary from Sanskrit/KhaRi-Bolii base on the one hand and Arabic,  Persian, English and other languages on the other. At once we can have  at least three equivalents for the same concept.

raat/lailah/shab
suuraj/shams/aaftaab
jii/qalb/dil
jiibh/lisaan/zabaan
nayaa/jadiid/nau
jhaT (se)/faur-an/jald*
se/min/az etc etc


* I am not certain if this is Persian or not.

But, sometimes I come across a word which I know is of Arabic or Persian  origins but I can not think of the Indic word for it. One such word is  "kursii". What is the Indic equivalent?


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## Faylasoof

Here are some suggstions for Indic words for chair:

प्राध्यापक पद
*praadhyaapak(a) pad(a)*

  आसन (masc.)  
*aasan(a)* – I believe  it comes from the *Sanskrit आसन्दी*_aasandii_ (fem.) = chair / stool (usually of basket work). [Vedic Sanskrit had _*sadati *_and _perhaps_Old Persian or Avestan,* siidati*.]

चौकी (fem.) 
_*chaukii* _ = chair – (but many other meanings too and in _our_ Urdu _chaukii_ can also mean toilet and a euphemism for excrement as well! As usual the context will tell you what is really meant.)


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## Qureshpor

Faylasoof said:


> Here are some suggstions for Indic words for chair:
> 
> प्राध्यापक पद
> *praadhyaapak(a) pad(a)*
> 
> *A bit of a mouthful. Besides, the second word carries other connotations for Punjabi speakers!! I think I would rather stand than to ask for a PP!*
> 
> आसन (masc.)
> *aasan(a)* – I believe  it comes from the *Sanskrit आसन्दी*_aasandii_ (fem.) = chair / stool (usually of basket work). [Vedic Sanskrit had _*sadati *_and _perhaps_Old Persian or Avestan,* siidati*.]
> 
> *I have heard of this word at home, connected with the seam in the inside leg part of a garment. My [Urdu/English] dictionary gives it the following meanings:
> 
> 1) Posture in coiture.
> 
> 2) (rare) Inner part of thigh.
> 
> 3) aasaan tale aanaa = to come under control
> 
> 4) aasaan jamaanaa= to sit on the hams/to sit firmly
> 
> 5) aasan lagaanaa=(archaic) to stage a sit down strike
> 
> So, as there is a good chance of a misunderstanding, I shall avoid asking for an "aasan" too!
> *
> चौकी (fem.)
> _*chaukii* _ = chair – (but many other meanings too and in _our_ Urdu _chaukii_ can also mean toilet and a euphemism for excrement as well! As usual the context will tell you what is really meant.)
> 
> *Yes, I'll go for this. The mere presence of "chau" implies there are four legs somewhere*
> 
> *Thank you.*


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## greatbear

Isn't chauki used for a low four-legged stool? Is it also used for a chair, which has a back?
Aasan is of course quite common for a seat/chair.


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## Faylasoof

greatbear said:


> Isn't chauki used for a low four-legged stool? Is it also used for a chair, which has a back?
> Aasan is of course quite common for a seat/chair.


 Yes, we do use _*chaukii*_ to mean a low four-legged stool. A bit like our_* taxt*_ but much smaller in length, width & height.

But for us _*chaukii*_ has other meanings too (above), apart from, say, a post-station etc.. e.g. _*daak chaukii. *Old usage!_


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## greatbear

Thanks! And oh yes, not so old an usage in certain contexts: who would not understand "police chauki"!


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## Faylasoof

greatbear said:


> Thanks! And oh yes, not so old an usage in certain contexts: who would not understand "police chauki"!


 
Of course police _chaukii_ is still in use. Heaven knows they need it! 
What I meant was _daak chaukii_ . This is no longer used as this earlier usage was about stages that a messenger on a horse would use to break his journey, change horses etc. Also, because of the various usages of _chaukii _in Urdu at least - a few rather unpleasant - there is a tendency amongst some to avoid the word! We still use the term police _chaukii_ !


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## tonyspeed

I propose that there is no true Indic-origin word for chair because the chair is not native to India/Pakistan and was introduced into the area probably by Arabic traders.

Even the word aasan literally means "seat", not the contraption with a back and four legs we call a chair. It was also used as a term for a type of prayer mat. Any usage of aasan in reference to a literal chair is a form of word-overload.


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## Qureshpor

tonyspeed said:


> I propose that there is no true Indic-origin word for chair because the chair is not native to India/Pakistan and was introduced into the area probably by Arabic traders.
> 
> Even the word aasan literally means "seat", not the contraption with a back and four legs we call a chair. It was also used as a term for a type of prayer mat. Any usage of aasan in reference to a literal chair is a form of word-overload.



*Tonyspeed Jii, you make a very valid point. I think the same could possibly be said of "button" as well.*


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## eskandar

Sorry to always be butting into Indic threads with my Persian, but I thought it might be of interest that the word now commonly used in Iranian Persian for chair, صندلی, is of (partially) Indic origin. صندلی literally means 'made from sandalwood'. The word for sandalwood is صندل, the Arabicized form of سندل, earlier چندل, ultimately from Sanskrit _candanam_.


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## Faylasoof

eskandar said:


> Sorry to always be butting into Indic threads with my Persian, but I thought it might be of interest that the word now commonly used in Iranian Persian for chair, صندلی, is of (partially) Indic origin. صندلی literally means 'made from sandalwood'. The word for sandalwood is صندل, the Arabicized form of سندل, earlier چندل, ultimately from Sanskrit _candanam_.


No need to apologise aaghaa-e-eskandar! We welcome your input!

Yes, the Persian صندلی_* Sandalii*_ (here and here) is ultimately derived from the word for this wood   سندل _*sandal*_ or better still,  _*chandan*_ - we use both!


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## littlepond

A Hindi word for "chair" that is currently in favour is "peeTh": if you were to watch Parliament proceedings, then they show "peeThaasiin" (for sitting member/speaker).
Of course, other than such official broadcasts, "kursii" and "chair" are the commonly used words. "aasan" is popular but also generic: it can be used for other kinds of seating arrangements.


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## colognial

I'd like to ask regarding 'kursii', if I may. I'm assuming this refers in Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu to some sort of ottoman stool. My question is, is this word originally Sanskrit?


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## Dib

colognial said:


> I'd like to ask regarding 'kursii', if I may. I'm assuming this refers in Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu to some sort of ottoman stool. My question is, is this word originally Sanskrit?



The immediate source of the word would have been Arabic (through Persian as usual?). But I don't know whether it is a native Arabic word. It is not Sanskrit, but there is a similar sounding Dravidian root that means "to sit":



> "Burrow, T., and M. B. Emeneau. _A Dravidian etymological dictionary._ 2nd ed. Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Clarendon Press, 1984."
> 
> 1900 Ka. kūr
> 
> 1900 *Ka. kūr* to *sit* down; *kūrisu* to cause to sit. *Te. kūr(u)cuṇḍu* to sit, be seated. *Pe. kuc- (-c-)* to sit. *Manḍ. kuh- (-t-)* id. DED(S) 1580.


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## fdb

It is Arabic kursī “throne, chair”, from Aramaic kursyā, from Akkadian kussû, from Sumerian gu.za, an old culture word in the Near East.


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## mundiya

littlepond said:


> A Hindi word for "chair" that is currently in favour is "peeTh": if you were to watch Parliament proceedings, then they show "peeThaasiin" (for sitting member/speaker).



I interpret "piiTh" to mean a seat generically, rather than a chair specifically. "piiTh" also means back. The two meanings have different genders and etymologies.


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## colognial

Thank you, guys, for providing an insight into the roots of the word 'kursii'. It's used in Persian to mean an ottoman or a wooden stool, as well as a kind of a large, heavy communal quilt traditionally spread across a room and over a heater and designed to keep whole families warm in winter. The term is also used as a reference to 'seats' in parliaments and on academic boards.


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## interstellar overdrive

There are multiple words for chair in hindi via sanskrit.
आसन्दी (aasandi) which comes from asana meaning posture or to sit.
पीठ ( peeth) which is in rather fervent use in official lingo.
सुखासन ( sukhasan) - much beloved of the poets. 
उपाधानासन्द (upAdhAnAsanda) - seldom used rather demode now.

It leaves me a little disconcerted with chagrin and a little confounded at the thought projected that chair was introduced by traders. It would've been rather difficult for an ancient civilisation not to have come up with something to sit on for all the centuries of its existence  All erstwhile civilisations have, the shapes varied but the purpose remains the same.


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## littlepond

interstellar overdrive said:


> t would've been rather difficult for an ancient civilisation not to have come up with something to sit on for all the centuries of its existence  All erstwhile civilisations have, the shapes varied but the purpose remains the same.



Well, those shapes do matter a lot in shaping a word. A car seat, now, isn't a car chair, right?


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