What does "punkah" mean?

A fan, particularly a large fan made of leaf or cloth and hung from the ceiling, (historical) formerly often operated by a servant.

What is a synonym for "punkah"?

Common synonyms include: blower, fan, ventilator.

//ˈpʌŋkə// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
A fan, particularly a large fan made of leaf or cloth and hung from the ceiling, (historical) formerly often operated by a servant. Myanmar, South-Asia
"A punkah is, by some, used instead of a chattah, (or umbrella); but it is very inferior as a defence against either sun, wind, or rain."
2
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 wordnet

"A punkah is, by some, used instead of a chattah, (or umbrella); but it is very inferior as a defence against either sun, wind, or rain."

Borrowed from Hindi पंखा (paṅkhā, “fan”), from Sanskrit पक्षक (pakṣaka), from पक्ष (pakṣa, “wing”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.