1814.—"The Afghauns believe each of the numerous solitudes in the mountains and desarts of their country to be inhabited by a lonely daemon, whom they call Ghoolee Beeabaun (the Goule or Spirit of the Waste); they represent him as a gigantic and frightful spectre, who devours any passenger whom chance may bring within his haunts."—Elphinstone's Caubul, ed. 1839, i. 291.
[GHURRA, s. Hind. ghaṛa, Skt. ghaṭa. A water-pot made of clay, of a spheroidal shape, known in S. India as the [chatty].
[1827.—"... the Rajah sent ... 60 Gurrahs (earthen vessels holding a gallon) of sugar-candy and sweetmeats."—Mundy, Pen and Pencil Sketches, 66.]
GHURRY, GURREE, s. Hind. ghaṛī. A clepsydra or water-instrument for measuring time, consisting of a floating cup with a small hole in it, adjusted so that it fills and sinks in a fixed time; also the gong by which the time so indicated is struck. This latter is properly ghaṛiyāl. Hence also a clock or watch; also the 60th part of a day and night, equal therefore to 24 minutes, was in old Hindu custom the space of time indicated by the clepsydra just mentioned, and was called a ghaṛī. But in Anglo-Indian usage, the word is employed for 'an hour,' [or some indefinite period of time]. The water-instrument is sometimes called Pun-Ghurry (panghaṛī quasi pānī-ghaṛī); also the Sun-dial, Dhoop-Ghurry (dhūp, 'sunshine'); the hour-glass, Ret-Ghurry (ret, retā, 'sand').
(Ancient).—"The magistrate, having employed the first four Ghurries of the day in bathing and praying, ... shall sit upon the Judgment Seat."—Code of the Gentoo Laws (Halhed, 1776), 104.
[1526.—"Gheri." See under [PUHUR].
[c. 1590.—An elaborate account of this method of measuring time will be found in Āīn, ed. Jarrett, iii. 15 seq.
[1616.—"About a guary after, the rest of my company arrived with the money."—Foster, Letters, iv. 343.]
1633.—"First they take a great Pot of Water ... and putting therein a little Pot (this lesser pot having a small hole in the bottome of it), the water issuing into it having filled it, then they strike on a great plate of brasse, or very fine metal, which stroak maketh a very great sound; this stroak or parcell of time they call a Goome, the small Pot being full they call a Gree, 8 grees make a Par, which Par (see [PUHUR]) is three hours by our accompt."—W. Bruton, in Hakl. v. 51.
1709.—"Or un gari est une de leurs heures, mais qui est bien petite en comparaison des nôtres; car elle n'est que de vingt-neuf minutes et environ quarante-trois secondes."(?)—Lettres Edif. xi. 233.