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Definition of "palanquin" [pal•an•quin]

  • A covered litter carried on poles on the shoulders of four or more bearers, formerly used in eastern Asia. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "palanquin" in a sentence
  • "Beneath the Virgin's palanquin is laid an extraordinary carpet of colored sawdust, arranged into artistic and inventive patterns."
  • "The grandees, when they appear abroad, are carried in a kind of palanquin, which is borne on two negroes 'shoulders."
  • "Other elites — including samurai, nobles, village headmen, the wealthy — traveled by palanquin aka litter."