Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A type of large
fan , common on the Indian subcontinent, especially made from aleaf or fromcloth , typically hung from the ceiling, designed to cool a room, often operated manually by a servant.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a large fan consisting of a frame covered with canvas that is suspended from the ceiling; used in India for circulating air in a room
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Punkah, _pankah_, a kind of fan; punkah wala, _punkah wala_, a fan-seller
Observations on the Mussulmauns of India Descriptive of Their Manners, Customs, Habits and Religious Opinions Made During a Twelve Years' Residence in Their Immediate Society Mrs. Meer Hasan Ali 1885
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The punkah is a large frame, from eight to ten feet long, and three feet high, covered with white Indian cloth, and fastened to the ceiling.
A Woman's Journey Round the World Ida Pfeiffer 1827
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In British India they used to have natives called punkah wallahs, who would pull on ropes that swung a large ceiling fan.
GREENIE WATCH 2010
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a rope attached to the punkah, which is brought to him by a small aperture in the wall, through which a piece of thin bamboo is inserted to make the friction as little as possible.
Life and Work in Benares and Kumaon, 1839-1877 James Kennedy 1857
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"Most of your readers will think 'punkah' is a kind of iced drink or half-time at polo," said Bertie, and disappeared into the steam.
The Chronicles of Clovis 1870-1916 Saki 1893
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The latter did the honours of the place and showed us the only 'punkah' at that time known to the West African coast.
To the Gold Coast for Gold A Personal Narrative in Two Volumes.—Volume I Richard Francis Burton 1855
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Overhead, a punkah had flapped forward and back on its wooden pole, creaking every now and then.
Shadow Princess Indu Sundaresan 2010
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Overhead, a punkah had flapped forward and back on its wooden pole, creaking every now and then.
Shadow Princess Indu Sundaresan 2010
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Wood-wind music called to them from the great deep window as snakes are summoned from their holes, and as cobras answer the charmer's call the women glided to the center and stood poised beneath the punkah.
In The Time Of Light dj barber 2010
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Overhead, a punkah had flapped forward and back on its wooden pole, creaking every now and then.
Shadow Princess Indu Sundaresan 2010
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