गुटका

Hindi

Pronunciation

(Delhi) IPA^(key): /ɡʊʈ.kɑː/, [ɡʊʈ.käː]

Etymology 1

Spherical pieces of wood fixed under the strings of a drum of a tabla set (sense 4)

Etymology tree

Prakrit *𑀕𑁄𑀝𑁆𑀝 (*gŏṭṭa)?

Sanskrit गुटिका (guṭikā)bor.?

Hindi गुटका (guṭkā)

Uncertain. Perhaps a conflation of multiple sources:

• Inherited from Prakrit *𑀕𑁄𑀝𑁆𑀝 (*gŏṭṭa, “something round”) + Middle Indo-Aryan -𑀓𑁆𑀓- (-kka-) + -𑀓- (-ka-) (whence also गुट्टा (guṭṭā, “lump”)). Cognate with Sindhi ڳوٽُ (ɠoṭu, “ball of tobacco”).
• Semi-learned borrowing from Sanskrit गुटिका (guṭikā, “kernel, ball”), itself somehow related to गुड (guḍa, “globe, ball”), गुडिका (guḍikā); but note that the more common forms are voiced unlike the Hindi term. For a similar instance of devoicing, compare मटका (maṭkā).

Compare also गोल (gol, “something round”). These may all be related and borrowed from some substrate language.

Unrelated to गुटकना (guṭaknā, “to gulp down, swallow”) and गुटकाना (guṭkānā, “to play a tabla, drum etc.”), both of which are likely of onomatopoeic origins.

Noun

गुटका • (guṭkā) m (feminine गुटकी)

1. gutka (small ball made of betel nut and tobacco, chewed recreationally)

   Near-synonyms: खीली (khīlī), बीड़ा (bīṛā), गिलौरी (gilaurī)

2. sweetmeat swallowed as a bolus without chewing
   • 2004 [1977], Ramesh Chandra Shah, गोबरगणेश, Rajkamal Prakashan, →ISBN, page 91:

     माँ चाय और आलू के गुटके बनाके खिलाती थी।

     mā̃ cāy aur ālū ke guṭke banāke khilātī thī.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

3. pill or bolus supposed to have magical effects when placed in the mouth
   • 1874 [1857], Duncan Forbes, The Baitāl-Pachīsī; or, The Twenty-five tales of a demon, W. H. Allen & Co., page 86:

     […] वहां जाकर दो गुटके बनाये. एक गुटका उस ब्राह्मण को देकर कहा, जब इसे मुंह में रक्खेगा, तब तू बारह बरस की कन्या हो जायगा. और जिस वक़्त तू इसे मुंह से निकाल लेगा, तो पुरुष ज्योंका त्यों हो जायगा.

     […] vahā̃ jākar do guṭke banāye. ek guṭkā us brāhmaṇ ko dekar kahā, jab ise mũh mẽ rakkhegā, tab tū bārah baras kī kanyā ho jāygā. aur jis vaqt tū ise mũh se nikāl legā, to puruṣ jyõkā tyõ ho jāygā.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

4. wedge, small sphere or block of wood (used e.g. as a doorstop or for fine-tuning a tabla)

   Synonyms: गट्टा (gaṭṭā), गट्टक (gaṭṭak)

   • 2023 June 13, D. C. Upadhyay, Dr. J. P. Goel, Er. Meera Goyal, भौतिक विज्ञान: Class 11 [Physics: Class 11]‎^[1], SBPD Publications, page 266:

     […] इन गुटकों को जोड़ने वाली डोरी में तनाव […]

     […] in guṭkõ ko joṛne vālī ḍorī mẽ tanāv […]

     […] the tension of the rope tying these two blocks […]

   • 1982, संगीत [Music]‎^[2], volume 48, Hathras: Sangeet Karyalaya, page 22:

     तबले में ध्वनि की तारता उसमें बँधी डोरी के बीच लगे गुटकों को ठोककर तनाव उत्पन्न करके बदली जाती है।

     table mẽ dhvani kī tārtā usmẽ bandhī ḍorī ke bīc lage guṭkõ ko ṭhokkar tanāv utpann karke badlī jātī hai.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 1987, घर में अंतरिक्ष [Space Adventures in Your House], Mir Publishers, translation of Космос у тебя дома [Kosmos u tebja doma] by Florenti Rabiza, →ISBN, page 233:

     पतंग से करीब एक मीटर दूर धागे पर एक हल्का गुटका बांध दीजिये, जो रोक का काम करेगा।

     pataṅg se karīb ek mīṭar dūr dhāge par ek halkā guṭkā bāndh dījiye, jo rok kā kām karegā.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

5. small book, pocket-version of a book
   • 1995, सिद्धलिंग पट्टणशेट्टी, मोहन राकेश और उनके नाटक: एक अधुनातन विश्लेशण [Mohan Rakesh and His Plays: A modern analysis]:

     […] यद्यपि माँ पूछ ही बैठती है कि "गुटका रामायण" तो बहुत छोटी होती है । यह तो इतनी बड़ी किताब है ।

     […] yadyapi mā̃ pūch hī baiṭhtī hai ki "guṭkā rāmāyaṇ" to bahut choṭī hotī hai . yah to itnī baṛī kitāb hai .

     […] although the mother is compelled to ask, "The pocket Ramayana is a very short book. But this is a very large book."

   • 1972, नवनीत‎^[3], volume 21, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, page 141:

     काशी को भारत का गुटका संस्करण कहा जाता है।

     kāśī ko bhārat kā guṭkā sanskaraṇ kahā jātā hai.

     Kashi is called the pocket edition of India.

6. (humorous, sometimes offensive) dwarf (person of short stature)

   Synonyms: बौना (baunā), नाटा (nāṭā), गुट्टा (guṭṭā)

   • 2017, Surendra Sharma, “गुटखे पर प्रतिबंध है, एटम बम पर छूट”, in बड़े बड़ों के उत्पात, Diamond Pocket Books Pvt Lmt, →ISBN:

     […] जब मैं स्कूल में पढ़ता था, तो छोटे कद के कारण लोग मुझे गुटका कहते थे।

     […] jab ma͠i skūl mẽ paṛhtā thā, to choṭe kad ke kāraṇ log mujhe guṭkā kahte the.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Declension

Declension of गुटका (masc ā-stem)

	singular	plural
direct	गुटका guṭkā	गुटके guṭke
oblique	गुटके guṭke	गुटकों guṭkõ
vocative	गुटके guṭke	गुटको guṭko

Alternative forms

• (small ball made of betel nut and tobacco): गुटखा (guṭkhā)
• (magical pill or bolus): गुटिका (guṭikā)
• (small book): गुटिका (guṭikā)

Derived terms

• गुटका संस्करण (guṭkā sanskaraṇ, “pocket edition”)

Descendants

• → English: gutka

References

• McGregor, Ronald Stuart (1993) “गुटका”, in The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary, London: Oxford University Press, page 268
• Platts, John T. (1884) “गुटका”, in A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English, London: W. H. Allen & Co., page 896
• Verma, Shyam Bahadur (2010) “गुटका”, in प्रभात बृहत् हिन्दी शब्दकोश (in Hindi), volume 1, New Delhi: Prabhat Prakashan, →ISBN, page 765

Etymology 2

Verb

गुटका • (guṭkā)

1. inflection of गुटकना (guṭaknā):
   1. masculine singular perfective participle
   2. masculine singular perfect indicative
2. inflection of गुटकाना (guṭkānā):
   1. stem
   2. second-person singular present imperative