गठरी

Hindi

FWOTD – 1 June 2022

Etymology

Inherited from Prakrit 𑀕𑀁𑀞𑀺 (gaṃṭhi) + Middle Indo-Aryan -𑀭- (-ra-) + -𑀇𑀓𑀸- (-ikā-), from Sanskrit ग्रन्थि (granthi).

Pronunciation

• (Delhi Hindi) IPA^(key): /ɡəʈʰ.ɾiː/, [ɡɐʈʰ.ɾiː]

Noun

गठरी • (gaṭhrī) f (Urdu spelling گَٹْھری)

1. bundle, package, parcel
   • 1964, पोली इमारत [polī imārat], Atmaram & Sons, page 23:

     गठरियों में आटा, चावल, दाल है और डिब्बे में घी।

     gaṭhriyõ mẽ āṭā, cāval, dāl hai aur ḍibbe mẽ ghī.

     There is flour, rice, pulses in the bundles and ghee in the box.

2. (figurative) riches, money, wealth

   Synonyms: धन (dhan), संपदा (sampdā), दौलत (daulat), वित्त (vitt), द्रव्य (dravya), माल (māl), लक्ष्मी (lakṣmī)

   • 2007, Sardar Mujawar, हिंदी की छायावादी ग़ज़ल [hindī kī chāyāvādī ġazal], Vani Prakashan, page 29:

     अगर अमीर बनना है तो दूसरों की गठरियाँ हड़प नहीं करनी होंगी।

     agar amīr bannā hai to dūsrõ kī gaṭhriyā̃ haṛap nahī̃ karnī hoṅgī.

     If you want to become rich, you will not have to grab the riches of others.

3. (figurative) a body like a bundle or package: nonmoving, stationary, or inept and crumpled or squeezed body
   • 2003, Sanjeev, सूत्रधार [sūtradhār], Radhakrishna Prakashan, →ISBN, page 15:

     […] लेंदरा लपेट कर फिर से गठरी बन गया था बाप।

     […] lendrā lapeṭ kar phir se gaṭhrī ban gayā thā bāp.

     Wrapping himself in a lendra, the father had again become a stationary, crumpled body.

   • 2009, Sunita Sharma, मैं खुश हूँ कमली [ma͠i khuś hū̃ kamlī], Radhakrishna Prakashan, →ISBN, page 220:

     जरा कल्पना तो करके देख तेरी सुहागरात कैसी होगी? तूने लाल जोड़ा पहना होगा। सफेद कोट-पैंट में अखिल आएगा। […] तू सिमटकर बिलकुल गठरी बन जाएगी। धीरे-धीरे वो तेरा यूँघट उठाएगा...

     jarā kalpanā to karke dekh terī suhāgrāt kaisī hogī? tūne lāl joṛā pahnā hogā. saphed koṭ-paiṇṭ mẽ akhil āegā. […] tū simaṭkar bilkul gaṭhrī ban jāegī. dhīre-dhīre vo terā yūṅghaṭ uṭhāegā...

     Just try to imagine, how your wedding night will be? You would be wearing a red pair. Akhil will come in white coat-pants. […] You will squeeze and become a crumpled, unmoving body. Slowly he will lift your ghoonghat...

Declension

Declension of गठरी (fem ī-stem)

	singular	plural
direct	गठरी gaṭhrī	गठरियाँ gaṭhriyā̃
oblique	गठरी gaṭhrī	गठरियों gaṭhriyõ
vocative	गठरी gaṭhrī	गठरियो gaṭhriyo

Further reading

• Bahri, Hardev (1989) “गठरी”, in Siksarthi Hindi-Angrejhi Sabdakosa [Learners' Hindi-English Dictionary], Delhi: Rajpal & Sons, page 141.
• Platts, John T. (1884) “गठरी”, in A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English, London: W. H. Allen & Co., page 897
• McGregor, Ronald Stuart (1993) “गठरी”, in The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary, London: Oxford University Press, page 251
• Caturvedi, Mahendra, Bhola Nath Tiwari (1970) “गठरी”, in A practical Hindi-English dictionary, Delhi: National Publishing House, page 167
• “गठरी”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2024.