As the Russian Empire absorbed Georgia, the Qurduli found a new home in the burgeoning underworld of Poti (the major port) and Kutaisi. Cargo thieves and horse rustlers refined the lexicon. During this era, the first rudimentary Leqsikoni (word lists) were written on scraps of parchment by exiled criminals.
A search or frisking (often by police); from Russian/Yiddish. (გაბლატავება)
: Linguists study these terms to understand how social layers influence language evolution and how foreign loanwords (Russian, Turkic, Arabic) are re-imagined in a Georgian context.
The "Thieves' Dictionary" encompasses more than just words; it includes the (understanding), which refers to the unwritten code and "dogmas" of the criminal world. Term (Transliterated) Meaning/Context Gageba (გაგება)