निकम्मा

Hindi

Etymology

Inherited from Sanskrit निष्कर्मन् (niṣkarman, “inactive”) + Middle Indo-Aryan -𑀓- (-ka-), from निस्- (nis-, “without”) +‎ कर्मन् (karman, “action”). Displaced Hindi निकाम (nikām). By surface analysis, नि- (ni-) +‎ काम (kām). Cognate with Punjabi ਨਿਕੰਮਾ (nikammā).

Pronunciation

(Delhi) 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