kendang

noun

ken·​dang ˈken-ˌdäŋ 

plural kendang also kendangs

: any of various double-headed drums of Indonesia and Malaysia

The kendang is always the leading instrument in gamelan orchestras, regulating tempos and cueing transitions.

—Jan Laurens Hartong, Musical Terms Worldwide, 2006

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Javanese kendhang, going back to Old Javanese kəṇḍaŋ "kind of drum"

First Known Use

1913, in the meaning defined above

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