Word
doha
Phoneticsdo·ha
/ˈdoʊˌhɑ/
Definition
n. a short poem or song from India that has only two lines. Both lines rhyme at the end and have a specific rhythm.
n. a self-contained rhyming couplet in Hindi and Urdu poetry, traditionally composed in the Apabhramsha or Braj Bhasha dialects. Each line consists of twenty-four matras (beats) following a specific syllabic structure.
Examples
“The poet recited a beautiful doha about wisdom.”
“Many students in India learn the dohas of Kabir to understand complex moral lessons through simple, two-line verses.”
“The doha remains a vital form in South Asian literature, packing profound philosophical insights into a rigid metrical structure that demands both brevity and lyrical precision.”
Examples
simple
“The poet recited a beautiful doha about wisdom.”
contextual
“Many students in India learn the dohas of Kabir to understand complex moral lessons through simple, two-line verses.”
complex
“The doha remains a vital form in South Asian literature, packing profound philosophical insights into a rigid metrical structure that demands both brevity and lyrical precision.”
Usage
Commonly refers to the works of medieval poets like Kabir, Tulsidas, or Rahim.
Etymology
From Arabic الدَّوْحَة (ad-dawḥa).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Domain
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/doha