Kissa
/ˈkɪs.ə/noun
A story or tale, especially in South Asian literary or oral tradition.
Did you know?In South Asian culture, the kissa tradition includes legendary romances and heroic epics, with famous Punjabi kissas such as *Heer Ranjha* surviving through oral performance and poetry.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Arabic
Arabic
qiṣṣa
“A story, tale, or narrative”
Medieval Arabic
Arabic
qaṣṣa
“He recounted or narrated a story”
Medieval Persian
Persian
qiṣṣa
“A tale or narrative, adopted from Arabic”
Medieval–Early Modern South Asia
Urdu/Hindi
qissa / kissa
“A tale, story, or narrative tradition”
18th–19th Century
Punjabi
kissa
“A long narrative poem or legendary tale”
Modern English
English
kissa
“A South Asian story, tale, or narrative poem”