Language: Nepali/Lahnda
Source: In use among collectors today
Description
Kaudi and kauṛi (कौड़ि) are alternative names for kauro (कौड़ो), which is the Nepali word for the notch at the base of the blade of a khukurī.
Both words literally mean "cowry shell," which was used as currency. It is also the symbol of Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth.
The word kaudi comes from the Lahnda language of the Western Punjab and undoubtedly entered the vernacular after the Gurkhas short-lived expansion Westwards in the late 18th to early 19th century.
Notes
1. Sir Ralph Lilley Turner; A comparative and etymological dictionary of the Nepali language. London: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1931.