chowk

English

Etymology

From Hindi चौक (cauk, “plaza, square, courtyard”), from Sanskrit चतुष्क (catuṣka, “quadrangular courtyard, crossway”).

Noun

chowk (plural chowks)

1. (India) An intersection or roundabout, where tracks or roads cross (often used in place names).
2. (India) A marketplace or open area in a city or village.
   • 2015, Ranjita Biswas, translating Arupa Patangia Kalita, Written in Tears, Harper Perennial 2015, p. 61:

     The all-important Jilmil bus was about to arrive at the chowk.

3. A courtyard.

---

Scots

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tʃʌuk/

Verb

chowk (third-person singular simple present chowks, present participle chowkin, simple past chowkeet, past participle chowkeet)

1. (Southern Scots) to choke

   Deh chowk on eet!