Meanings
plural thangkas · alternative tanka · alternative tangka · alternative thanka
- A painted or embroidered linen banner, usually depicting Buddhist themes, originating in Tibet; a prayer flag.
When the talks by Lama Thubten Yeshe on Buddhist and Christian meditation were published, the text included a reproduction of a Christian icon and a Tibetan thangka.
1996, Gerald Christianson, Thomas M. Izbicki, editors, Nicholas of Cusa on Christ and the Church, BRILL, →ISBN, page 2651 more example
Like so many things in Nepal, thangka—Tibetan ritual paintings—are now cranked out for the tourist market, yet the best ones remain undiminished by commercialization, and even the cheapest can't hide the dense Buddhist symbolism inherent in the form.
2002, David Reed, The Rough Guide to Nepal, Rough Guides, →ISBN, page 70
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Tibetanཐང་ཀ
- Englishthangka
Borrowed from Tibetan ཐང་ཀ (thang ka, literally “painting”).
More words from Tibetan
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 唐卡
- 唐卡 (tángkǎ)painted or embroidered linen banner
Finnish thangka
- thangkapainted or embroidered linen banner
Polish thangka
- thangkapainted or embroidered linen banner
Vietnamese thangka
- thangkapainted or embroidered linen banner
Cite this entry
thangka. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thangka
“thangka.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thangka. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “thangka,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thangka.
Source: thangka on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.