कल

Inherited from Prakrit 𑀓𑀮𑁆𑀮𑀁 (kallaṃ, “tomorrow, yesterday”), from Sanskrit कल्यम् (kalyam, “at dawn, yesterday”), an adverbial accusative attested as early as the Mahabharata, from कल्य (kalya, “dawn”). Cognate with Marathi काल (kāl), Bengali কাল (kal), and Punjabi ਕੱਲ੍ਹ (kallh).

• (Delhi) IPA^(key): /kəl/,
• Rhymes: -əl

कल • (kal) (Urdu spelling کل)

1. yesterday
2. tomorrow
3. any indefinite time in the past or future

कल • (kal) m (Urdu spelling کل)

1. yesterday

   कल की रात ― kal kī rāt ― last night; tomorrow night

2. tomorrow

   कल की रात ― kal kī rāt ― last night; tomorrow night

3. any indefinite time in the past or future

• Whether the word कल means either yesterday or tomorrow is generally clarified by the tense of the verb. Since Hindi verbs conjugate for both the past and future tenses, it possible to know the precise meaning of the word just by looking at the verb tense. If a verb is not present, the meaning can be understood by context.

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

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

• IPA^(key):

कल • (kala) ? (Newa Spelling 𑐎𑐮)

1. machine, device

कल • (kala) stem

1. indistinct, dumb
2. indistinct or inarticulate (on account of tears)
3. low, soft (as a tone), emitting a soft tone, melodious (as a voice or throat)
4. a kind of faulty pronunciation of vowels
5. weak, crude, undigested

कल • (kala) stem, m

1. a low or soft and inarticulate tone (as humming, buzzing etc.)
2. Shorea robusta, the shala tree
3. (poetry) time equal to four matras or instants
4. (in the plural) a class of manes (clarification of this definition is needed)

कल • (kala) stem, n

1. (anatomy) penis
2. Ziziphus zizyphus ( ⇒ Ziziphus jujuba)