agung

noun

ˈä-güŋ 

variants or less commonly ageng

ˈä-geŋ 

or agong

ˈä-gȯŋ 

plural agung also ageng or agong

: any of various suspended, bossed, wide-rimmed gongs of Southeast Asia

… the drum elaborates on the rhythmic patterns of the agung.

—Traditional Drama and Music of Southeast Asia, 1974

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from a word in languages of the southern Philippines and adjacent parts of Indonesia, such as Magindanao and Central Sinama (Sama-Bajau language of the Sulu Archipelago) agung, Maranao agong, Manobo of Bukidnon (northern Mindanao) agung (phonetically aγuŋ), all probably borrowed directly or indirectly from Old Javanese agoŋ "with gongs," prefixed form of goŋ gong entry 1

Note: Details of the diffusion and forms of this etymon are in need of clarification. Alan Stevens and A.E. Schmidgall-Tellings, A Comprehensive Indonesian-English Dictionary, 2nd edition (Ohio University Press, 2010), record agung as an obsolete word for "gong" in Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia). The spelling ageng is perhaps by confusion with Javanese gong ageng "large gong."

First Known Use

1913, in the meaning defined above

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