Word Meaning
उमीद
umīd
Meaning
Hope, expectation, anticipation, or longing for fulfillment.
Detailed Meaning
In classical Urdu poetics, 'umīd' represents hope, typically the lover's persistent anticipation of union, grace, or the fulfillment of a beloved's promise. In this couplet, it stands in direct contrast to 'nav-mīdī' (despair), underscoring a state of profound emotional numbness where habitual broken promises have rendered hope and despair identical.
Etymology
From Persian 'umēd' (امید), signifying hope, expectation, or trust.
Usage
In the ghazal tradition, 'umīd' is frequently contrasted dialectically with despair ('yās' or 'nau-mīdī') to dramatize the lover's psychological suspension between belief and disappointment.
Examples
Hope of union kept the ailing lover alive.
Suspended eternally between hope and despair.