Ghar

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A dwelling or house typically found in South Asian regions ; a traditional residence often made with local materials and serving as a family home ; a shelter providing living space and protection, commonly in rural or urban South Asian contexts
2. A structure built for human habitation commonly in India and neighboring countries ; a place where people live and carry out their domestic activities ; a shelter or abode regarded as the primary place of residence in South Asia
3. A building serving as a place to live, usually in South Asian cultural settings ; a home providing accommodation and security for a household ; a customary living space traditionally associated with families in the Indian subcontinent

Etymology: Its ancestor is Sanskrit "gṛha," which meant a house or dwelling and, in older texts, the household living under one roof. That double sense still runs through the modern noun, which can name a building or the family that lives in it. The deeper origin of the Sanskrit root is uncertain. The word passed through Middle Indic forms into the vernaculars of northern India. Its most famous derivative is "gharana," literally "of the household," used for hereditary schools of Hindustani classical music. Each gharana is a lineage of teachers and students who share a style and training, so a musical tradition is described in the language of family.

Synonyms: house, home, residence, dwelling, abode

Antonyms: wilderness, open space, outdoors