Patta
/ˈpʌtə/noun
A document or grant recording a person's legal right to occupy or cultivate land, especially in South Asia.
Did you know?The word’s earliest Sanskrit ancestor, paṭṭa, referred to cloth or a band; in South Asian legal practice, that idea of a formal “strip” or document evolved into a recorded land grant.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Sanskrit
Sanskrit
paṭṭa
“A strip, band, or piece of cloth”
Middle Indo-Aryan
Prakrit
paṭṭa
“A strip, document, or written record”
Medieval India
Persianate administrative usage
paṭṭā
“A written grant or record concerning land”
18th–19th Century
Hindi
paṭṭā
“A land deed, lease, or official document granting land rights”
19th Century
Anglo-Indian English
patta
“A document recording land tenure or cultivation rights”
Modern English
English
patta
“A South Asian land grant or tenure document”