punkah
Americannoun
adjective
Etymology
Origin of punkah
First recorded in 1615–25, punkah is from the Hindi word paṅkhā
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He is on all the first-night lists, Leon at L'Aperitif salutes him as 'Highness,' he is reputed to travel with his own linen sheets, punkah wavers, court chamberlains and sauce cooks .
From Time Magazine Archive
Over his head waved a punkah, drawn by a white-clad woman disciple.
From Time Magazine Archive
The section Punk, for example, lists 43 definitions of that word, and then goes on to define punkah, punkateero and punkatunk.
From Time Magazine Archive
For in those early days nursing was as persistent a feature of the hot weather as the punkah itself, and her skill had been acquired in a hard school.
From Captain Desmond, V.C. by Diver, Maud
A long, narrow table covered with oilcloth and surmounted by a huge punkah, a number of straight wooden chairs and a square red cupboard comprised all the furniture, the whole dimly lighted by two candles.
From Lippincott's Magazine, Vol. 22, November, 1878 of Popular Literature and Science by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
