Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A covered litter carried on poles on the shoulders of multiple bearers, formerly used in eastern Asia.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To be carried in a palanquin: sometimes with it.
  • noun A covered conveyance, generally for one person, used in India and elsewhere in the East, borne by means of poles on the shoulders of four or six men.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun An inclosed carriage or litter, commonly about eight feet long, four feet wide, and four feet high, borne on the shoulders of men by means of two projecting poles, -- used in India, China, etc., for the conveyance of a single person from place to place.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A covered type of litter for a stretched-out passenger, carried on four poles on the shoulders of four or more bearers, as formerly used (also by colonials) in eastern Asia.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a closed litter carried on the shoulders of four bearers

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Portuguese palanquim, from a modern Indic source such as Hindi pālkī or Oriya pālaṅki, of Middle Indic origin; akin to Prakrit pallaṁka, bed, from Sanskrit paryaṅkaḥ, palyaṅkaḥ, couch, bed, from Sanskrit paryaṅkaḥ, palyaṅkaḥ, couch, bed, of unknown origin.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Portuguese palanquim, ultimately from Sanskrit पल्यङ्क (paly-aṅka, "bed, couch, bedstead").

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Examples

Comments

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  • This word has a strange majesty, for me. Almost a smell to it, or a taste. Mmm, spicy and sweet.

    April 16, 2008

  • Did anyone ever tell you about synaesthesia*? :-)

    (*Or synæsthesia, or synaesthesia)

    April 16, 2008

  • Very colonial, which in turn sends me off to the jungle.

    April 16, 2008

  • Picaresque?

    April 16, 2008

  • Both Roland and Sebastian were taken to the King's palace on the royal palanquin.

    - William Steig, Roland the Minstrel Pig

    September 29, 2008

  • Usage on dhoolie.

    May 5, 2010

  • Here she comes in her palanquin

    On the back of an elephant

    On a bed made of linen and sequins and silk

    (The Infanta, by The Decemberists)

    January 24, 2011

  • By the way, Colin Meloy's pronunciation is quite different from Mr. Pronunciation's.

    Is he 'wrong'?

    February 9, 2011