tanka
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Tan·ka
(täng′kä)n. pl. Tanka or Tan·kas
A member of a people inhabiting coastal areas in China, traditionally living on small boats clustered in colonies. Also called Tan.
[Cantonese daan6 gaa1, daan6, tribal name (from Middle Chinese tɦan`; also the source of Mandarin dàn), gaa1, family, people (from Middle Chinese kja⋮; also the source of Mandarin jiā).]
tan·ka 1
(täng′kə)n.
1.
a. A Japanese lyric verse form having seven unrhymed lines, the first and third composed of five morae and the rest of seven.
b. A verse form in another language modeled on the Japanese tanka, typically counting syllables instead of morae.
2. A poem written in such a form.
[Japanese : tan, short (from Middle Chinese tuan´; also the source of Mandarin duǎn) + ka, song, poem (from Middle Chinese ka; also the source of Mandarin gē).]
tan·ka 2
(täng′kə)n.
Variant of thangka.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
tanka
(ˈtɑːŋkə)n, pl -kas or -ka
(Poetry) a Japanese verse form consisting of five lines, the first and third having five syllables, the others seven
[C19: from Japanese, from tan short + ka verse]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
tan•ka
(ˈtɑŋ kə)n., pl. -kas, -ka.
a Japanese poem consisting of 31 syllables in 5 lines, with 5 syllables in the first and third lines and 7 in the others.
[1915–20; < Japanese < Middle Chinese, = Chinese duǎn short + gē song]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
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| Noun | 1. | tanka - a form of Japanese poetry; the 1st and 3rd lines have five syllables and the 2nd, 4th, and 5th have seven syllables poem, verse form - a composition written in metrical feet forming rhythmical lines |
| 2. | tanka - a Tibetan religious painting on fabric |
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