pukka

adjective

puk·​ka ˈpə-kə 

variants or less commonly pucka

: genuine, authentic

also : first-class

Did you know?

Pukka tends to evoke the height of 18th- and 19th-century British imperialism in India, and, indeed, it was first used in print in English in 1776, in transcripts of the trial of Maha Rajah Nundocomar, who was accused of forgery and tried, in 1775, by a British court in Bengal. The word is borrowed from Hindi and Urdu "pakkā," which means "solid." The English speakers who borrowed it applied the "sound and reliable" sense of "solid" and thus the word came to mean "genuine." As the British Raj waned, "pukka" was occasionally appended to "sahib" (an Anglo-Indian word for a European of some social or official status). That expression is sometimes used as a compliment for an elegant and refined gentleman, but it can also imply that someone is overbearing and pretentious. These days, "pukka" is also used as a British slang word meaning "excellent" or "cool."

Synonyms

• authentic
• bona fide
• certifiable
• certified
• dinkum [Australian & New Zealand]
• echt
• genuine
• honest
• real
• right
• sure-enough
• true

Examples of pukka in a Sentence

wondering whether the old-looking ivory box was pukka—or just something recently manufactured in China

Recent Examples on the Web

And if my name were Nikki or Bobby, the state of the state would be pukka — sorry, strong. —Anand Giridharadas, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2016

Word History

Etymology

Hindi & Urdu pakkā cooked, ripe, solid, from Sanskrit pakva; akin to Greek pessein to cook — more at cook

First Known Use

1776, in the meaning defined above

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