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Today it means

cutcha

Indian English for something crude, makeshift, or impermanent (the opposite of 'pukka').

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Where does the word "cutcha" come from? It comes from Hindi kaccha, and was adopted directly into English (1830s).

Read the full story

Where does the word "cutcha" come from? It comes from Hindi kaccha, and was adopted directly into English (1830s).

Cutcha’s story begins in Hindi: kaccha meant “raw, unripe, makeshift.” Meant 'raw, uncooked, unripe, makeshift'. It reached English by 1830s as cutcha. British colonials in India adopted the word for crude, temporary construction, contrasted with 'pucka'. Today, cutcha means indian English for something crude, makeshift, or impermanent (the opposite of 'pukka').

  1. Stage 1 · Hindi · medieval kaccha "raw, unripe, makeshift", meant 'raw, uncooked, unripe, makeshift'.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1830s cutcha "crude, makeshift, or temporary, especially of buildings", British colonials in India adopted the word for crude, temporary construction, contrasted with 'pucka'.

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