As a deity name
Name 297 of the Gayatri Sahasranāma — Devi Bhagavata Purana, as taught by Sages
As a Hindi name
चातक · ćātak · s.m.
The pied cuckoo, Cuculus melanoleucus (syn. papīhā, living, according to the legend, only upon rain-drops) — Platts (1884), digital edition courtesy DSAL, University of Chicago, p. 416
चातक · noun · masculine
[स्त्री॰ चातकी] एक पक्षी जो वर्षाकाल में बहुत बोलता है । पपीहा । वि॰ दे॰ 'पपीहा' — Śabdasāgara
चाय · feminine
tea (plant, beverage); cup of tea
a Hindi word of Persian origin; it is not Sanskrit — per Wiktionary’s etymology record
“Borrowed from Classical Persian چَای (čāy), ultimately from Chinese 茶 (chá).” — per Wiktionary’s etymology record
As a Sanskrit word
Meaning
the bird Cucculus melanoleucus (said to subsist on rain-drops), &c.
Scripturally attested Verified derivationMultiple readings (11)Why this matches what you typed
The spelling you confirmed, चातक, is itself a dictionary headword — no grammatical transformation stands between what you typed and the meaning above.
Dictionary citations
cātaka m. the bird Cucculus melanoleucus (said to subsist on rain-drops), Śak. vii, 7; Ragh. xvii, 15; Megh. &c.
cātaka m. (-kaḥ) A bird, a kind of cuckoo, (Cuculus melano-leucus.) E. cata to beg, affix ṇvul; begging water from the clouds, the supposed sole source of the fluid which this bird drinks.
Alternative readings
More than one analysis survives full verification. That ambiguity is real, so we show every reading rather than pick one silently.
Caveats
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