Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In the East Indies, prepared lime.
  • noun A common name for plaster of quicklime and sand, the finest kinds of which are susceptible of a very high polish.
  • noun A weight for gold in northern India, equal to 6 troy grains.
  • To plaster with chunam.

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

  • noun India Quicklime; also, plaster or mortar.

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

  • noun A type of plaster used in India, made from shell-lime and sand.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Tamil சுண்ணம் (cuṇṇam, "lime, ground mortar"), from Sanskrit चूर्ण (cūrṇa, "powder; lime").

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Examples

  • He used the word 'chunam', which in Chinese and Mongol means nothing.

    Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph 2011

  • He used the word 'chunam', which in Chinese and Mongol means nothing.

    Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph 2011

  • It contains many smaller vessels fitted to the angles, for holding the nut, leaf, and chunam, which is quicklime made from calcined shells; with places for the instruments (kachip) employed in cutting the first, and spatulas for spreading the last.

    The History of Sumatra Containing An Account Of The Government, Laws, Customs And Manners Of The Native Inhabitants William Marsden 1795

  • Minto's skilful treatment, became gorgeous enough for the most exacting Asiatic, with its black marble floor, its rose-coloured silk walls where great silver sconces alternated with full-length portraits of British sovereigns, its white "chunam" columns and its gilt Italian furniture.

    The Days Before Yesterday Frederick Spencer Hamilton 1892

  • Workers are now removing the 'chunam' or quick lime, which had been applied to the hull below the waterline to keep it watertight during the voyage.

    Khaleej Times : UAE News 2010

  • Here also were two cenotaphs in the center of the room, this time covered with a polished chunam, a lime plaster that had been dyed yellow with limestone.

    Shadow Princess Indu Sundaresan 2010

  • Its pillars were white but actually built in sandstone and polished with a high-gloss lime chunam.

    Shadow Princess Indu Sundaresan 2010

  • Its pillars were white but actually built in sandstone and polished with a high-gloss lime chunam.

    Shadow Princess Indu Sundaresan 2010

  • Here also were two cenotaphs in the center of the room, this time covered with a polished chunam, a lime plaster that had been dyed yellow with limestone.

    Shadow Princess Indu Sundaresan 2010

  • Its pillars were white but actually built in sandstone and polished with a high-gloss lime chunam.

    Shadow Princess Indu Sundaresan 2010

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