Word Meaning
हबाबी
hababi
Meaning
Bubble-like; resembling a water bubble; fragile or spherical like blown glass.
Detailed Meaning
Hababi (properly hubabi) pertains to or resembles a water bubble ('hubab'), denoting qualities of spherical transparency, round swelling, and extreme fragility. In classical Urdu and Persian poetry, 'sheesha-e-hababi' refers to delicate blown glassware fashioned in the shape of a bubble. In this couplet, it describes the poet's blistered, tormented heart resembling a fragile, swollen glass sphere.
Etymology
Arabic (from 'hubab', meaning water bubble) adapted into Persian and Urdu with the adjectival nisba suffix '-i'.
Usage
Commonly used in ghazals in the compound 'sheesha-e-hababi' to evoke extreme fragility, transience, or the swollen, glassy nature of blisters.
Examples
The bubble-like vessel shattered at the slightest touch.
A heart fragile as bubble-shaped blown glass.