punkah

[ puhng-kuh ]

/ ˈpʌŋ kə /

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

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

Origin of punkah

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

punjabi, punji stake, punk, punk rock, punka, punkah, punker, punkie, punkin, punky, punner

All is ready for the tired traveler, and a boy can be hired for a trifling sum to make the punkah "punk."

Camps and Trails in China |Roy Chapman Andrews and Yvette Borup Andrews
Inside the house the temperature was little cooler despite the punkah which droned monotonously overhead.

The Jungle Girl |Gordon Casserly
He discovered, too, that it was a good thing to lie in the wave of air under the punkah.

Actions and Reactions |Rudyard Kipling
A flying stone struck the boom of the punkah, and thumped on the table.

Dragon's blood |Henry Milner Rideout

The absence of a punkah, a necessity to which he was accustomed, was also a trial.

From Jungle to Java |Arthur Keyser