Word Meaning
निको-नामी
niko-naami
Meaning
Good reputation, honorable fame, or renown.
Detailed Meaning
A Persian compound noun referring to a good name, high reputation, or moral credit. In Ghalib's couplet, it ironizes Farhad's celebrated status as an archetypal lover, refusing to grant him honor since his legendary labor merely served his rival Khusraw's palace. The term highlights how an idealized lover's famed virtue can be critically re-evaluated as mere servile toil.
Etymology
Persian: 'niko' (good, virtuous) + 'naam' (name, fame) + abstract suffix '-i'.
Usage
In classical ghazal poetry, lovers frequently disavow 'niko-naami' in favor of the disrepute (bad-naami or ruswaa'i) that true devotion traditionally demands.
Examples
He pursued virtue only for the sake of a good name.
His good reputation survived even the harshest of slanders.