निकम्मा

Hindi

Alternative forms

निकाम (nikām)

Etymology

Borrowed from Northwestern Indo-Aryan, whence Punjabi ਨਿਕੰਮਾ (nikammā), from Sanskrit निष्कर्मन् (niṣkarman, “inactive”), from निस्- (nis-, “without”) +‎ कर्मन् (karman, “action”). Largely eclipsed the native equivalent निकाम (nikām). By surface analysis, नि- (ni-) +‎ काम (kām).

Pronunciation

(Delhi Hindi) IPA^(key): /nɪ.kəm.mɑː/, [nɪ.kɐ̃m.mäː]

Adjective

निकम्मा • (nikammā) (Urdu spelling نکما)

unemployed, without work
(usually derogatory) useless, idle
आज कल वह बहुत निकम्मा है।
āj kal vah bahut nikammā hai.
He is very idle these days.

Declension

Declension of निकम्मा (ā-stem)

	masculine		feminine
	singular	plural	singular	plural
direct	निकम्मा nikammā	निकम्मे nikamme	निकम्मी nikammī	निकम्मी nikammī
oblique	निकम्मे nikamme	निकम्मे nikamme	निकम्मी nikammī	निकम्मी nikammī
vocative	निकम्मे nikamme	निकम्मे nikamme	निकम्मी nikammī	निकम्मी nikammī

Synonyms

(unemployed): बेरोज़गार (berozgār), बेकार (bekār)
(useless): बेकार (bekār)

Derived terms

निकम्मापन (nikammāpan, “idleness, uselessness”)

References

Platts, John T. (1884) “निकम्मा”, in A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English, London: W. H. Allen & Co.
Caturvedi, Mahendra, Bhola Nath Tiwari (1970) “निकम्मा”, in A practical Hindi-English dictionary, Delhi: National Publishing House

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