# नक्र
## Hindi
### Etymology

Learned borrowing from Classical Sanskrit नक्र (nakra).

### Pronunciation

* (Delhi) IPA: /nək.ɾᵊ/, [nɐk.ɾᵊ]

### Noun

नक्र • (nakra) m (Urdu spelling نکر) (rare)
* crocodile; alligator
    Synonyms: जलकंटक (jalkaṇṭak), मगर (magar), घड़ियाल (ghaṛiyāl), मकर (makar)
* (anatomy) nose
    Synonyms: नासा (nāsā), नासिका (nāsikā), नाक (nāk)
* upper timber of a door frame
    Synonyms: पटाव (paṭāv), भरेठा (bhareṭhā)

#### Declension
### Further reading

* Dāsa, Śyāmasundara (1965–1975) “नक्र”, in Hindī Śabdasāgara [lit. Sea of Hindi words] (in Hindi), Kashi [Varanasi]: Nagari Pracarini Sabha
* Platts, John T. (1884) “नक्र”, in A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English, London: W. H. Allen & Co.
* McGregor, Ronald Stuart (1993) “नक्र”, in The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary, London: Oxford University Press

## Sanskrit
### Alternative scripts

* নক্ৰ (Assamese script)
* ᬦᬓ᭄ᬭ (Balinese script)
* নক্র (Bengali script)
* 𑰡𑰎𑰿𑰨 (Bhaiksuki script)
* 𑀦𑀓𑁆𑀭 (Brahmi script)
* နကြ (Burmese script)
* નક્ર (Gujarati script)
* ਨਕ੍ਰ (Gurmukhi script)
* 𑌨𑌕𑍍𑌰 (Grantha script)
* ꦤꦏꦿ (Javanese script)
* 𑂢𑂍𑂹𑂩 (Kaithi script)
* ನಕ್ರ (Kannada script)
* នក្រ (Khmer script)
* ນກ຺ຣ (Lao script)
* നക്ര (Malayalam script)
* ᠨᠠᡬᡵᠠ (Manchu script)
* 𑘡𑘎𑘿𑘨 (Modi script)
* ᠨᠠᢉᠷᠠ᠋ (Mongolian script)
* 𑧁𑦮𑧠𑧈 (Nandinagari script)
* 𑐣𑐎𑑂𑐬 (Newa script)
* ନକ୍ର (Odia script)
* ꢥꢒ꣄ꢬ (Saurashtra script)
* 𑆤𑆑𑇀𑆫 (Sharada script)
* 𑖡𑖎𑖿𑖨 (Siddham script)
* නක්‍ර (Sinhalese script)
* 𑩯𑩜 𑪙𑩼 (Soyombo script)
* 𑚝𑚊𑚶𑚤 (Takri script)
* நக்ர (Tamil script)
* నక్ర (Telugu script)
* นกฺร (Thai script)
* ན་ཀྲ (Tibetan script)
* 𑒢𑒏𑓂𑒩 (Tirhuta script)
* 𑨝𑨋𑩇𑨫 (Zanabazar Square script)

### Pronunciation

* (Classical Sanskrit) IPA: /n̪ɐk.ɾɐ/

### Etymology 1

Of Dravidian origin, ultimately from Proto-South Dravidian *nekVḷ; compare Kannada ನೆಗಳೆ (negaḷe).

#### Proper noun

नक्र • (nakra) stem, m
* (astrology) the zodiac sign Scorpio
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:वृश्चिक

#### Noun

नक्र • (nakra) stem, m or n (Classical Sanskrit)
* m crocodile; alligator
** c. 700 CE – 900 CE, Bhāgavata Purāṇa 2.7.16:श्रुत्वा हरिस्तमरणार्थिनमप्रमेयश्चक्रायुधः पतगराजभुजाधिरूढः। चक्रेण नक्रवदनं विनिपाट्य तस्माद्धस्ते प्रगृह्य भगवान् कृपयोज्जहार॥śrutvā haristamaraṇārthinamaprameyaścakrāyudhaḥ patagarājabhujādhirūḍhaḥ. cakreṇa nakravadanaṃ vinipāṭya tasmāddhaste pragṛhya bhagavān kṛpayojjahāra.Hari [Kṛṣna], after hearing the elephant’s plea, felt that the elephant needed his immediate help, for he was in great distress. Thus at once the Lord appeared there on the wings of the king of birds, Garuḍa, fully equipped with his weapon, the cakra. With the wheel he cut to pieces the mouth of the crocodile to save the elephant, and he delivered the elephant by lifting him by his trunk.
** c. 700 CE – 900 CE, Bhāgavata Purāṇa 8.7.13:उपर्यधश्चात्मनि गोत्रनेत्रयोः परेण ते प्राविशता समेधिताः। ममन्थुरब्धिं तरसा मदोत्कटा महाद्रिणा क्षोभितनक्रचक्रम्॥uparyadhaścātmani gotranetrayoḥ pareṇa te prāviśatā samedhitāḥ. mamanthurabdhiṃ tarasā madotkaṭā mahādriṇā kṣobhitanakracakram.The demigods and demons worked almost madly for the nectar, encouraged by the Lord, who was above and below the mountain and who had entered the demigods, the demons, Vāsuki and the mountain itself. Because of the strength of the demigods and demons, the ocean of milk was so powerfully agitated that all the alligators in the water were very much perturbed. Nonetheless the churning of the ocean continued in this way.
** c. 700 CE – 900 CE, Bhāgavata Purāṇa 2.7.24:यस्मा अदादुदधिरूढभयाङ्गवेपो मार्गं सपद्यरिपुरं हरवद् दिधक्षोः। दूरे सुहृन्मथितरोषसुशोणद‍ृष्टय‍ा तातप्यमानमकरोरगनक्रचक्रः॥Rāmacandra, being aggrieved for his distant intimate friend [Sītā], glanced over the city of the enemy Rāvaṇa with red-hot eyes like those of Hara [who wanted to burn the kingdom of heaven]. The great ocean, trembling in fear, gave his his way because its family members, the aquatics like the sharks, snakes and crocodiles, were being burnt by the heat of the angry red-hot eyes of the Lord.
** any sea monster
*** c. 700 CE – 900 CE, Bhāgavata Purāṇa 12.9.12:ततो व्यदृश्यन्त चतुःसमुद्राः समन्ततः क्ष्मातलमाग्रसन्तः। समीरवेगोर्मिभिरुग्रनक्रमहाभयावर्तगभीरघोषाः॥tato vyadṛśyanta catuḥsamudrāḥ samantataḥ kṣmātalamāgrasantaḥ. samīravegormibhirugranakramahābhayāvartagabhīraghoṣāḥ.Then the four great oceans appeared on all sides, swallowing up the surface of the earth with their wind-tossed waves. In these oceans were terrible sea monsters, fearful whirlpools and ominous rumblings.
* n upper timber of a door frame

##### Declension
#### Alternative forms

* नाक्र (nā́kra)

#### Descendants

* Pali: nakka
* Prakrit: णक्क (ṇakka) (see there for further descendants)

### Etymology 2

Sanskritization of Prakrit णक्क (ṇakka) or Ashokan Prakrit *𑀦𑀓𑁆𑀓 (*nakka), itself ultimately from Sanskrit नस् (nás) +‎ -क (-ka).

#### Noun

नक्र • (nakra) stem, n (Classical Sanskrit)
* (anatomy) a nose
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:नासिका

##### Declension

* ¹Vedic

##### Alternative forms

* नक्रा (nakrā)

### Further reading

* Monier Williams (1899) “नक्र”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, […], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 524.
* Hellwig, Oliver (2010–2025) “nakra”, in DCS - The Digital Corpus of Sanskrit, Berlin, Germany.
* Apte, Vaman Shivram (1890) “नक्र”, in The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary, Poona: Prasad Prakashan
* Arthur Anthony Macdonell (1893) “नक्र”, in A practical Sanskrit dictionary with transliteration, accentuation, and etymological analysis throughout, London: Oxford University Press
* Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985) “nakra”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press