कु-

Hindi

Etymology

Borrowed from Sanskrit कु- (ku-).

Pronunciation

(Delhi) IPA^(key): /kuː/

Prefix

कु- • (ku-)

mal-, ill-, mis-; prefix for nouns that are bad, useless, or defective
Synonym: बद- (bad-)

‎कु- (ku-) + ‎कर्म (karm, “deed”) → ‎कुकर्म (kukarm, “misdeed”)

Usage notes

This prefix is typically applied to Sanskrit loanwords. It is often opposed to the prefix सु- (su-, “well-”).

Derived terms

Hindi terms prefixed with कु-

कुशासन

References

McGregor, Ronald Stuart (1993), “कु-”, in The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary, London: Oxford University Press

Sanskrit

Alternative scripts

কু- (Assamese script)
ᬓᬸ- (Balinese script)
কু- (Bengali script)
𑰎𑰲- (Bhaiksuki script)
𑀓𑀼- (Brahmi script)
ကု- (Burmese script)
કુ- (Gujarati script)
ਕੁ- (Gurmukhi script)
𑌕𑍁- (Grantha script)
ꦏꦸ- (Javanese script)
𑂍𑂳- (Kaithi script)
ಕು- (Kannada script)
កុ- (Khmer script)
ກຸ- (Lao script)
കു- (Malayalam script)
ᡬᡠ᠊ (Manchu script)
𑘎𑘳- (Modi script)
ᢉᠤ᠊ (Mongolian script)
𑦮𑧔- (Nandinagari script)
𑐎𑐸- (Newa script)
କୁ- (Odia script)
ꢒꢸ- (Saurashtra script)
𑆑𑆶- (Sharada script)
𑖎𑖲- (Siddham script)
කු- (Sinhalese script)
𑩜𑩒- (Soyombo script)
𑚊𑚰- (Takri script)
கு- (Tamil script)
కు- (Telugu script)
กุ- (Thai script)
ཀུ- (Tibetan script)
𑒏𑒳- (Tirhuta script)
𑨋𑨃- (Zanabazar Square script)

Etymology

According to Monier-Williams, of the same origin as कू (kū, “where”) as in कुत्र (kutra), ultimately formed from the interrogative pronoun stem *kʷ- as in *kʷos, *kʷís. See कु (ku).

Pronunciation

(Vedic) IPA^(key): /ku/
(Classical Sanskrit) IPA^(key): /ku/

Prefix

कु- • (ku-)

mal-, ill-, mis-; a prefix implying deterioration, depreciation, deficiency, want, littleness, hindrance, reproach, contempt, guilt
‎कु- (ku-) + ‎ख्याति (khyāti, “repute”) → ‎कुख्याति (kukhyāti, “ill-repute”)

Derived terms

Sanskrit terms prefixed with कु-

कुख्याति

कुष्ठ

References

Monier Williams (1899), “कु-”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, […], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 285.