palanquin

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pal·an·quin

(păl′ən-kēn′, păl′ən-kwĭn) also pal·an·keen (păl′ən-kēn′)

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

[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.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

palanquin

(ˌpælənˈkiːn) or

palankeen

(Historical Terms) a covered litter, formerly used in the Orient, carried on the shoulders of four men

[C16: from Portuguese palanquim, from Prakrit pallanka, from Sanskrit paryanka couch]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pal•an•quin

or pal•an•keen

(ˌpæl ənˈkin)

n.

an enclosed litter suspended from poles and borne on the shoulders of several men, formerly in use in E Asia.

[1580–90; < Middle French < Dutch pallankin < Portuguese palanquim « Pali pallaṅka, Skt palyaṅka; compare Oriya pālaṅki]

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Noun

palanquin - a closed litter carried on the shoulders of four bearers

palankeen

litter - conveyance consisting of a chair or bed carried on two poles by bearers

Translations

palanquin

n → Sänfte f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

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Formerly one was obliged to travel in India by the old cumbrous methods of going on foot or on horseback, in palanquins or unwieldly coaches; now fast steamboats ply on the Indus and the Ganges, and a great railway, with branch lines joining the main line at many points on its route, traverses the peninsula from Bombay to Calcutta in three days.

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"Perhaps," said Willoughby, "his observations may have extended to the existence of nabobs, gold mohrs, and palanquins."

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They were of different sizes, and some had their mahouts or palanquins on their backs.

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I used to dream of white horses and palanquins, too; but still, I like the ink-pots best.

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The Sorceress rode in a beautiful palanquin which was like the body of a coach, having doors and windows with silken curtains; but instead of wheels, which a coach has, the palanquin rested upon two long, horizontal bars, which were borne upon the shoulders of twelve servants.

The Gump flew along slowly at a point directly over the palanquin in which rode the Sorceress.

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It was a huge vehicle, roomy, as easy in its motion as a palanquin, and exceedingly comfortable.

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"It is a one-horse palanquin," said the old gentleman, who was a wag in his way.

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Snagsby," says Bucket as a kind of shabby palanquin is borne towards them, surrounded by a noisy crowd.

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They were used to jogging off alone through a hundred miles of jungle, where there was always the delightful chance of being delayed by tigers; but they would no more have bathed in the English Channel in an English August than their brothers across the world would have lain still while a leopard snuffed at their palanquin. There were boys of fifteen who had spent a day and a half on an islet in the middle of a flooded river, taking charge, as by right, of a camp of frantic pilgrims returning from a shrine.

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The rescue operation teams were seen evacuating senior citizens, women, children, and others by carrying them either on their shoulders or palanquins through the debris of landslides and floodwater.

Kerala floods: Death toll rises to 72

More than 30,000 local Kashmiris rent tents, sell warm-weather gear and walking sticks, and provide transport in the form of ponies and palanquins, or commercial chopper flights, up to the shrine, according to Anup Kumar Soni, additional chief executive of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board.