Inherited from Old Punjabi ਕਾਇਰੁ (kāiru), from Prakrit 𑀓𑀸𑀬𑀭 (kāyara), from Sanskrit कातर (kātara).

• IPA^(key): /käː.ɪɾə̆/, /kɛː˦ɾə̆/
• Rhymes: -ɪɾə̆, -ɛː˦ɾə̆
• Hyphenation: ਕਾ‧ਇਰ

ਕਾਇਰ • (kāiră) (Shahmukhi spelling کائِر)

1. timid; cowardly
   • 1969, Bhagwant Singh, Dasam Granth Tuk Tatkara‎^[1], Sri Guru Granth Sahib Khoj Vibhag, Punjabi University, →OCLC, page 327:

     ਕਾਇਰ ਹੁਇ ਤਿਹ ਪੇਖ ਡਰੇ ਨਹਿ ਆਪ ਮਰੇ ਉਨ ਕਉ ਨਹਿ ਮਾਰਯੋ।

     kāira hui tih pekh ḍare nahi āpa mare una kau nahi māryo.

     Don't be afraid to look at the cowardly ones. Don't kill them.

• “ਕਾਇਰ”, in Punjabi-English Dictionary, Patiala: Punjabi University, 2024
• Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985) “kātara”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press, page 154