Definition of "chunam" []

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

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