kumkum
9.9
A red powder used to make a mark on the forehead in South Asian religious and social ceremonies
- noun
- Indian
:
kumkum
- He applied a traditional kumkum mark on her forehead before the prayers began.
- kumkum and sticker bindi
- kumkum and sticker
Examples
-
All of them shuffled in a matchbox and were held hostage to the customs of the house, to the powerful distillation of kitchen and poojaroom smells: incense, cumin, and kumkum.
Fiction book (2002) -
During the ceremony, she wore bright red kumkum on her forehead as a symbol of her marital status.
-
In South Asian weddings, the bride often has kumkum placed on her forehead to signify blessings.
Synonyms
2
9.9
A colored mark put on the forehead in South Asian ceremonies to show a blessing
is the red powder used to apply that dot or paste
8.8
A colored mark on the forehead used for religious or decorative reasons
is the red powder used to make those marks on forehead or body
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word kumkum comes from an old Sanskrit word kunkuma meaning 'saffron' or 'red dye'. That's why kumkum is the red powder used in South Asian temples and homes to make marks on the forehead.