Word Meaning
ख़म-गश्ता
kham-gashta
Meaning
Bent, bowed, or stooped, especially due to old age or sorrow.
Detailed Meaning
Literally meaning 'become bent' or 'turned crooked', it refers to a posture stooped under the burden of age, grief, or humble devotion. In the given couplet, 'qadd-e-kham-gashta' (stooped stature) is imaginatively likened to a round link in the chain at the beloved's doorway, portraying lifelong servitude. It conveys that the lover's very bodily decline has molded them into a permanent part of the beloved's threshold.
Etymology
Persian compound formed from 'kham' (curve, bend) and 'gashta' (become, turned; past participle of gashtan).
Usage
In the ghazal tradition, it conventionally evokes the pathos of senescence or the extreme submissiveness of a devoted lover.
Examples
a stooped posture in the lane of love
bent like a crescent in old age