pukka

Adjective

pukka (comparative more pukka, superlative most pukka)

1. Genuine or authentic; hence of behaviour: correct, socially acceptable or proper.
   • Maha Rajah said it was necessary to witness it to make it pukka; and they said so too, and then signed it.1775 June 8, T[homas] B[ayly] Howell, comp., “556. The Trial of Maha Rajah Nundocomar Bahader, for Forgery. At Calcutta, in the Province of Bengal: 15 George III, a.d. 1775. [Published by Authority...
   • The measures which resulted in the crushing of the mutiny within the Five Rivers, were unquestionably pukka. […] Pukka and kucha statesmanship are, indeed, two things which time rarely fails to detect, just as it tries the durability of a public building or a bridge.1857 December, “Art IV. A Glossary of Judicial and Revenue Terms, and of Useful Words Occurring in Official Documents, Relating to the Administration of the Government of British India, from the...
2. (South-Asia) Constructed as a permanent building, with high-quality materials (especially fired clay bricks and tiles as opposed to unfired mud and thatch).
   • The popular classification of wells is, however, into pukka and kuchcha. Percolation wells are usually pukka or brickbuilt. Spring wells are of three kinds—(1) pukka, where the sub-soil to the spring is sandy, and masonry is necessary througout; […] (3) kuchcha wells, made of clay throughout.1875, Edwin T. Atkinson, “Irrigation from All Sources”, in Statistical, Descriptive and Historical Account of the Aligarh District. Prepared, under Orders of the Govt. of India, Allahabad...
   • In some cases, the sericulturists avail of credit facility and construct a pukka shed for the silk worms. It is ironical, however, that they have to accommodate themselves and their children in a shabby hut.2003, Man and Life
3. (UK, slang, now chiefly London and Estuary) Superior or of high quality; first-class; excellent.
   • Mind you, it was a pukka, respectable opium-house, and not one of those stifling, sweltering chandoo-khanas, that you can find all over the City.1884, Rudyard Kipling, “The Gate of the Hundred Sorrows”, in Plain Tales from the Hills, Calcutta: Thacker, Spink and Co.; London: W. Thacker & Co., published 1888, →OCLC; 2nd edition, Calcutta...
   • Jamie Oliver prepares a "pukka" picnic of strawberries, champagne and lobster for a sail through the royal borough of Windsor on his mate's splashy new motorboat.2003, TV Guide, volume 51, page 146