हमसाया

Hindi

FWOTD – 6 November 2022

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian همسایه (hamsāya). By surface analysis, हम- (ham-, “same”) +‎ साया (sāyā, “shade”). Compare Punjabi ਹਮਸਾਇਆ (hamsāiā) / ہمسایہ (hmsāyh).

Pronunciation

• (Delhi Hindi) IPA^(key): /ɦəm.sɑː.jɑː/, [ɦɐ̃m.säː.jäː]

Noun

हमसाया • (hamsāyā) m (Urdu spelling ہمسایَہ)

1. neighbour

   Synonyms: पड़ोसी (paṛosī), प्रतिवेशी (prativeśī)

   • 1904, Muhammad Iqbal, तराना-ए-हिन्द [Tarānah-e-Hind]:

     परबत वो सबसे ऊँचा हमसाया आसमाँ का।
     वो संतरी हमारा, वो पासबाँ हमारा॥

     parbat vo sabse ū̃cā hamsāyā āsmā̃ kā.
     vo santrī hamārā, vo pāsbā̃ hamārā.

     The highest mountain he [Himalaya] is, the neighbour of the sky;
     he is our sentry, he is our guard.

   • 2009, Meera Kant, एक कोई था, कहीं नहीं-सा [ek koī thā, kahī̃ nahī̃-sā]‎^[1], Vani Prakashan, →ISBN, page 94:

     वे दोनों दोस्त भी थे और हमसाए भी। ऐसे हमसाए जो सही मायने में हमसाए थे।

     ve donõ dost bhī the aur hamsāe bhī. aise hamsāe jo sahī māyne mẽ hamsāe the.

     They were friends also and neighbours too. Such neighbours who were neighbours in its true meaning.

Declension

Declension of हमसाया (masc ā-stem)

	singular	plural
direct	हमसाया hamsāyā	हमसाए, हमसाये hamsāe, hamsāye
oblique	हमसाए, हमसाये hamsāe, hamsāye	हमसायों hamsāyõ
vocative	हमसाए, हमसाये hamsāe, hamsāye	हमसायो hamsāyo

Further reading

• McGregor, Ronald Stuart (1993) “हमसाया”, in The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary, London: Oxford University Press, page 1059
• Dāsa, Śyāmasundara (1965–1975) “हमसाया”, in Hindī Śabdasāgara [lit. Sea of Hindi words] (in Hindi), Kashi [Varanasi]: Nagari Pracarini Sabha, page 5445
• “हमसाया”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2024.