punkah

or pun·ka

[ puhng-kuh ]

noun
  1. (especially in India) a fan, especially a large, swinging, screenlike fan hung from the ceiling and moved by a servant or by machinery.

adjective
  1. of, pertaining to, used on, or working a punkah: punkah ropes.

Origin of punkah

1
First recorded in 1615–25, punkah is from the Hindi word paṅkhā

Words Nearby punkah

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use punkah in a sentence

  • During meal-times, a large punkah is employed to diffuse an agreeable degree of coolness through the apartment.

  • Even the private soldier Page 410in Singapore has a punkah pulled over his bed at night.

    A Voyage in the 'Sunbeam' | Annie Allnut Brassey
  • The carpenter has rigged up a punkah, and the men have improvised some double awnings.

    A Voyage in the 'Sunbeam' | Annie Allnut Brassey
  • In spite of the exertions of the punkah coolie, the billiard-room of the Occidental Hotel was like the furnace-doors of Sheol.

  • Inside, the droning whine of the punkah mocks him throughout the weary day, as it scarcely stirs the heated air.

    Life in an Indian Outpost | Gordon Casserly