PALANQUIN (pronounced palankeen, a

See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form in which it is sometimes spelled)  , a covered litter used in India and other Eastern countries . It is usually some eight feet long by four feet in width and depth, fitted with movable blinds or shutters, and slung on poles carried by four bearers . Indian and Chinese women of rank always travelled in palanquin, and they were largely used by European residents in India before the railways . The norimono of Japan and the kiaotsu of China differ from the Indian palanquin only in the method of attaching the poles to the body of the conveyance . The word came into European use through Port. palanquim, which represents an East Indian word seen in several forms, e.g . Malay and Javanese palangki, Hindostani palki, Pali pallanko, &c., all in the sense of litter, couch, bed . The Sansk. paryanka, couch, bed, the source of all these words, is derived from parr, round, about, and anka, hook . The Nev rEnglish Dictionary points out the curious resemblance of these words with the Latin use of phalanga (Gr . ¢,aAayE) for a bearing or carrying pole, whence the Span. palanca and palanquino, a bearer .