E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Pucka,
an Indian word in very common use, means real, bona fide; as, “He is a commander, but not a pucka one” (i.e. not officially appointed, but only acting as such, pro tempore). “The queen reigns, but her ministers are the pucka rulers.” A suffragan bishop, an honorary canon, a Lynch-judge, a lieutenant-colonel, the temporary editor of a journal, are not “pucka,” or bona fide so.
