बिल्ली

See also:बिल्ला,andबुल्ला

Hindi

बिल्ली

Etymology

InheritedfromSauraseni Prakrit[Term?],fromSanskritबिदालिका(bidālikā),a diminutive form ofSanskritबिडाल(biḍāla,“cat; eyeball”),fromDravidian.Cognate withPunjabiبِلَّا／ਬਿੱਲਾ(billā).

Pronunciation

• (Delhi)IPA^(key):/bɪl.liː/

Noun

बिल्ली•(billī)f(masculineबिल्ला,Urdu spellingبلی)

1. cat(of any gender)

   मेरीबिल्लीपूरे दिन सोती है―merībillīpūre din sotī hai―My cat sleeps all day

2. femalecat

Usage notes

• Although this word is feminine and used for femalecats,it is also used to meandomestic catin general. The masculine form, or the word fortomcat,isबिल्ला(billā).

Declension

Declension ofबिल्ली(fem ī-stem)

	singular	plural
direct	बिल्ली billī	बिल्लियाँ billiyā̃
oblique	बिल्ली billī	बिल्लियों billiyõ
vocative	बिल्ली billī	बिल्लियो billiyo

References

• McGregor, Ronald Stuart(1993) “बिल्ली”,inThe Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary,London: Oxford University Press
• Platts, John T.(1884) “बिल्ली”,inA dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English,London: W. H. Allen & Co.
• “बिल्ली”,inCollins Gem Hindi-English Dictionary,Collins,2011,→ISBN
• Dāsa, Śyāmasundara(1965–1975) “बिल्ली”,inHindī Śabdasāgara[lit. Sea of Hindi words](in Hindi), Kashi[Varanasi]:Nagari Pracarini Sabha
• Turner, Ralph Lilley(1969–1985) “billī”,inA Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages,London: Oxford University Press
• Caturvedi, Mahendra, Bhola Nath Tiwari (1970) “बिल्ली”,inA practical Hindi-English dictionary,Delhi: National Publishing House
• Bahri, Hardev(1989) “बिल्ली”,inSiksarthi Hindi-Angrejhi Sabdakosa,Delhi: Rajpal & Sons.