See chamcha on Wiktionary
{
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "inc-hnd",
"3": "-"
},
"expansion": "Borrowed from Hindustani",
"name": "bor+"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "hi",
"3": "चमचा"
},
"expansion": "Hindi चमचा (camcā)",
"name": "bor"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ur",
"3": "چَمْچَہ",
"lit": "spoon",
"t": "yesman, sycophant, hanger-on, lackey, pet, puppet, stooge"
},
"expansion": "Urdu چَمْچَہ (camca, “yesman, sycophant, hanger-on, lackey, pet, puppet, stooge”, literally “spoon”)",
"name": "bor"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "<span class=\"cited-source\">Turner, Ralph Lilley (<span class=\"None\" lang=\"und\">1931), “chamcha”, in <cite>A comparative and etymological dictionary of the Nepali language</cite>, London: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner</span></span>"
},
"expansion": "",
"name": "ref"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "fa-cls",
"3": "چَمْچَه"
},
"expansion": "Classical Persian چَمْچَه (čamča)",
"name": "der"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "trk",
"3": "-"
},
"expansion": "Turkic",
"name": "der"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "trk-pro",
"3": "*kamïč"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Turkic *kamïč",
"name": "der"
}
],
"etymology_text": "Borrowed from Hindustani (Hindi चमचा (camcā) / Urdu چَمْچَہ (camca, “yesman, sycophant, hanger-on, lackey, pet, puppet, stooge”, literally “spoon”)), from Classical Persian چَمْچَه (čamča), from Turkic, ultimately from Proto-Turkic *kamïč,.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "chamchas",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "chamcha (plural chamchas)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Indian English",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with 1 entry",
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},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with entries",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "South Asian English",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Indian politics",
"orig": "en:Indian politics",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "People",
"orig": "en:People",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Politics",
"orig": "en:Politics",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
}
],
"derived": [
{
"english": "spooning, sycophancy",
"translation": "spooning, sycophancy",
"word": "chamchagiri"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "1989. Stuart Auerbach. Washington Post. (Mar. 26) “Nehru and His Nation”\nM J Akbar has been called a chamcha to the Gandhi family, and some of that slavish devotion shows up in his uncritical acceptance of Nehru’s government-dominated economic program and the erosion of the country’s grass roots political structure as a result of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty."
},
{
"ref": "1994. William Dalrymple City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi (Dec. 1) “Glossary” p. 340",
"text": "Chamcha Sycophant (lit. ‘spoon’). 1997. Ghulam Nabi Azad. India Today (June 23) p. 13: I have my own standing in the party. I cannot be anybody’s chamcha (stooge)."
},
{
"text": "1997. Sudhir Vaishnav. Times of India. (Aug. 24) “A very political exercise”\nSeveral hangers-on. They are available aplenty everywhere in the country and are often known in the local market as Chamcha."
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
104,
112
],
[
150,
158
]
],
"ref": "1998 January 17, “In Praise of Chamchagiri”, in P.S. Sharma Times of India:",
"text": "No doubt, the United Kingdom also had their sycophants—toadys, bachhas, jholichuks and hukkabardars—but chamchas of the modern vintage they had none. Chamchas are a breed apart.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2004. Krishnakumar. Midday (Mumbai, India) (Sept. 21)",
"text": "Leaders’ chamchas get lucky”: All three have pulled strings in their respective parties to get Assembly poll tickets for their puppets and close confidants, better known in political parlance as chamchas."
}
],
"glosses": [
"A sycophant and hanger-on or lackey."
],
"id": "en-chamcha-en-noun--4GLcL52",
"links": [
[
"politics",
"politics"
],
[
"sycophant",
"sycophant"
],
[
"hanger-on",
"hanger-on"
],
[
"lackey",
"lackey"
]
],
"qualifier": "Indian politics",
"raw_glosses": [
"(India, South Asia, politics, Indian politics, colloquial, informal) A sycophant and hanger-on or lackey."
],
"tags": [
"India",
"South-Asia",
"colloquial",
"informal"
],
"topics": [
"government",
"politics"
]
}
],
"word": "chamcha"
}
{
"derived": [
{
"english": "spooning, sycophancy",
"translation": "spooning, sycophancy",
"word": "chamchagiri"
}
],
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "inc-hnd",
"3": "-"
},
"expansion": "Borrowed from Hindustani",
"name": "bor+"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "hi",
"3": "चमचा"
},
"expansion": "Hindi चमचा (camcā)",
"name": "bor"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ur",
"3": "چَمْچَہ",
"lit": "spoon",
"t": "yesman, sycophant, hanger-on, lackey, pet, puppet, stooge"
},
"expansion": "Urdu چَمْچَہ (camca, “yesman, sycophant, hanger-on, lackey, pet, puppet, stooge”, literally “spoon”)",
"name": "bor"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "<span class=\"cited-source\">Turner, Ralph Lilley (<span class=\"None\" lang=\"und\">1931), “chamcha”, in <cite>A comparative and etymological dictionary of the Nepali language</cite>, London: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner</span></span>"
},
"expansion": "",
"name": "ref"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "fa-cls",
"3": "چَمْچَه"
},
"expansion": "Classical Persian چَمْچَه (čamča)",
"name": "der"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "trk",
"3": "-"
},
"expansion": "Turkic",
"name": "der"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "trk-pro",
"3": "*kamïč"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Turkic *kamïč",
"name": "der"
}
],
"etymology_text": "Borrowed from Hindustani (Hindi चमचा (camcā) / Urdu چَمْچَہ (camca, “yesman, sycophant, hanger-on, lackey, pet, puppet, stooge”, literally “spoon”)), from Classical Persian چَمْچَه (čamča), from Turkic, ultimately from Proto-Turkic *kamïč,.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "chamchas",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "chamcha (plural chamchas)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English colloquialisms",
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English informal terms",
"English lemmas",
"English nouns",
"English terms borrowed from Hindi",
"English terms borrowed from Hindustani languages",
"English terms borrowed from Urdu",
"English terms derived from Classical Persian",
"English terms derived from Hindi",
"English terms derived from Hindustani languages",
"English terms derived from Proto-Turkic",
"English terms derived from Turkic languages",
"English terms derived from Urdu",
"English terms with quotations",
"Indian English",
"Pages with 1 entry",
"Pages with entries",
"Quotation templates to be cleaned",
"South Asian English",
"en:Indian politics",
"en:People",
"en:Politics"
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "1989. Stuart Auerbach. Washington Post. (Mar. 26) “Nehru and His Nation”\nM J Akbar has been called a chamcha to the Gandhi family, and some of that slavish devotion shows up in his uncritical acceptance of Nehru’s government-dominated economic program and the erosion of the country’s grass roots political structure as a result of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty."
},
{
"ref": "1994. William Dalrymple City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi (Dec. 1) “Glossary” p. 340",
"text": "Chamcha Sycophant (lit. ‘spoon’). 1997. Ghulam Nabi Azad. India Today (June 23) p. 13: I have my own standing in the party. I cannot be anybody’s chamcha (stooge)."
},
{
"text": "1997. Sudhir Vaishnav. Times of India. (Aug. 24) “A very political exercise”\nSeveral hangers-on. They are available aplenty everywhere in the country and are often known in the local market as Chamcha."
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
104,
112
],
[
150,
158
]
],
"ref": "1998 January 17, “In Praise of Chamchagiri”, in P.S. Sharma Times of India:",
"text": "No doubt, the United Kingdom also had their sycophants—toadys, bachhas, jholichuks and hukkabardars—but chamchas of the modern vintage they had none. Chamchas are a breed apart.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2004. Krishnakumar. Midday (Mumbai, India) (Sept. 21)",
"text": "Leaders’ chamchas get lucky”: All three have pulled strings in their respective parties to get Assembly poll tickets for their puppets and close confidants, better known in political parlance as chamchas."
}
],
"glosses": [
"A sycophant and hanger-on or lackey."
],
"links": [
[
"politics",
"politics"
],
[
"sycophant",
"sycophant"
],
[
"hanger-on",
"hanger-on"
],
[
"lackey",
"lackey"
]
],
"qualifier": "Indian politics",
"raw_glosses": [
"(India, South Asia, politics, Indian politics, colloquial, informal) A sycophant and hanger-on or lackey."
],
"tags": [
"India",
"South-Asia",
"colloquial",
"informal"
],
"topics": [
"government",
"politics"
]
}
],
"word": "chamcha"
}
Download raw JSONL data for chamcha meaning in All languages combined (4.4kB)
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-07-20 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-07-06 using wiktextract (b70b34c and e7887d5). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
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