chunam
verb
- to plaster over with a cement made from shell-lime and sea sand
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /tʃʊˈnɑːm/
noun
Etymology: From Tamil சுண்ணம் (cuṇṇam, “lime, ground mortar”), from Sanskrit चूर्ण (cūrṇa, “powder; lime”).
- A type of plaster made from lime and sand, used for indoor finishing and slope protection.
“The one Mr Cleveland and I inhabited was, as I have already observed, constructed of mud instead of chunam.”
“In all the operations of chunam work, jaggery water, i. e. a solution of molasses or coarse sugar, is invariably added by the builders, and its use appears to have prevailed from the remotest ages.”
verb
Etymology: From Tamil சுண்ணம் (cuṇṇam, “lime, ground mortar”), from Sanskrit चूर्ण (cūrṇa, “powder; lime”).
- To plaster or waterproof with chunam.
“A PUNT FOR SALE, thirty-four feet long, twelve feet broad, and three feet ten inches deep, chunamed, sheathed, and coppered, carries about fifteen tons.”