The origins of the word bhatta

The word ‘bhatta’ originally means ‘boiled rice’.


Mahim Maher March 18, 2012

KARACHI: The word ‘bhatta’ originally means ‘boiled rice’, explains Khaled Ahmed, who is the author of ‘Word for Word: Stories Behind Everyday Words We Use’ (OUP 2010).

Bhaat means rice and it becomes bhatta for boiled rice, which used to be handed out in small amounts, say a handful, with the salaries for the lower servants or staff of a household in the subcontinent. “It meant a little something extra,” he told The Express Tribune on Sunday over the telephone.

Criminals did not start by using the word ‘bhatta’ but used to ask for ‘a little something extra’. In fact, he said, the word bhatta has the original meaning in the official 24-volume Urdu dictionary till today.

COMMENTS (7)

Balma | 12 years ago | Reply

thank you for explaining the origin of this word. The word bhaat is used for rice in many subcontinental languages, I guess.

Keep up the good work and ignore the burgers on this site.

faraz | 12 years ago | Reply

I want back the 10 seconds of my life i spent reading this

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