ਅੰਗੂਠਾ

What does angutha mean in Punjabi? Angutha (ਅੰਗੂਠਾ) is the thumb: the short, thick finger on the side of the hand, set apart from the other fingers, and also the great toe. It is the finger used for gripping, for a thumbs up sign, and for the thumbprint left in place of a signature.

What does angutha mean in Punjabi?

Rekhta Dictionary gives angutha as a masculine noun, origin Sanskrit, with two linked meanings: the thumb, also called the great toe, and a thumbprint. Wiktionary traces the word to Sanskrit angushtha and also gives thumb as its meaning. Ling lists the thumb in its Punjabi hand words as ਅੰਗੂਠਾ, next to the wrist and the fingernail. Unlike the ungal, the ordinary finger, the angutha stands apart from the other fingers and works against them, which is why a hand can grip, hold and turn things.

Why does the angutha matter in daily life?

The angutha does work no other finger can replace. It presses, holds and turns: opening a lid, buttoning a shirt, holding a pen and lifting a cup all lean on it. Its print also carries a person's mark. Rekhta lists angutha for the thumb impression put on paper in place of a signature, and its compounds angutha-chhaap and angutha-tek for a person who signs that way because he cannot read or write. In Punjab that thumb impression on land and bank papers is a familiar sight, so the word is heard in offices as well as at home.

What does angutha dikhana mean?

Showing the thumb can also carry a message. Rekhta records the idiom angutha dikhana, to show the thumb to someone in defiance or derision, to defy him and refuse. It is a teasing, mocking refusal, often used by children in play when they will not give in. That is different from the friendly thumbs up that simply means all is well. The same thumb can say yes, can refuse in fun, and can sign a paper, so the listener reads the moment, not the finger alone.