tanka definitions

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a form of Japanese poetry; the 1st and 3rd lines have five syllables and the 2nd, 4th, and 5th have seven syllables
2: a Tibetan religious painting on fabric

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Japanese Date: circa 1877 an unrhymed Japanese verse form of five lines containing five, seven, five, seven, and seven syllables respectively; also a poem in this form — compare haiku

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. a Japanese poem in five lines and thirty-one syllables giving a complete picture of an event or mood. Etymology: Jap.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tanka Tan"ka, n. (Naut.) A kind of boat used in Canton. It is about 25 feet long and is often rowed by women. Called also tankia. --S. W. Williams.