manja · noun — string coated with crushed glass and attached to a kite, used to cut the strings of other kites in kite fighting. It carries an Arena rating of 1443, earned across 33 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, manja ranks #573 of 17,149 for Most Ingenious Words, #668 of 17,156 for Most Exacting Words, #1,349 of 17,171 for Funniest Words, #1,735 of 17,135 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound.
Why “manja” is a great word
MANJA — [Noun/Adjective] A kite-fighting string coated with a sharp adhesive mixture of crushed glass and glue; as an adjective, describing a demonstrative, adoring affection that indulges and coddles. From Hindi माँझा (māñjhā), referring to the prepared kite string. Unlike “pamper,” which implies simple indulgence, or “affectionate,” which suggests warm fondness, *manja* carries the specific weight of a love that both fortifies and smothers. It is the glint of ground crystal on a taut line slicing through a rival’s kite; it is the grandmother feeding you a third sweet with insistent, flour-dusted hands; it is the lover’s embrace so tight it borders on captivity—a testament to how the most tender bonds are often the ones that cut, or hold too tight to ever let go.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
Borrowed from Hindi माँझा (māñjhā).
noun
- String coated with crushed glass and attached to a kite, used to cut the strings of other kites in kite fighting.e.g.“In spring when the sky was dotted with paper kites, the young men and boys allowed the girls to hold the manja, kite string made abrasive with finely crushed glass.” — 2008, Bapsi Sidhwa, The Pakistani Bride, Milkweed Editions, →ISBN, page 54:
adj
- Adoring; affectionate; tending to coddle somebody.e.g.“[…] the same note of clinging affection is present. This leads others to rightly conclude that the brother and the sister are manja towards each other.” — 1980, Felix Chia, The Babas, page 24:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- mijo 45% match — A term of endearment for a man or boy; dear, darling, my heart. vs manja →
- manju 45% match — A traditional Japanese confection; most have an outside made from flour, rice powder, kudzu, and buckwheat, and a filling of red bean paste, usually made from boiled azuki beans and sugar; in Hawaii, Okinawan ones are made with a filling of purple sweet potato, butter, milk, sugar, and salt, but the most common filling is bean paste. vs manja →
- mija 45% match — A term of endearment for a woman or girl. vs manja →
- munjistin 45% match — A reddish-orange dye resembling alizarin, found in the root of Indian madder, a species of madder from around the Himalayas, Rubia manjith (formerly Rubia munjista). vs manja →
- parang 44% match — A short, heavy, straight-edged knife used in Malaysia and Indonesia as a tool and weapon. vs manja →
- punji 43% match — A sharpened stick, often made of bamboo and covered in feces or other biohazardous material, set in the ground to wound or impale enemy soldiers. vs manja →
- manikin 43% match — A little man (sometimes as a term of endearment). vs manja →
- manpain 43% match — Emotional trauma or angst experienced by a man, especially over things pertaining to his male role or identity. vs manja →