panga
UK[ˈpæŋɡə]US[ˈpɑːŋɡə]
n
a large, broad-bladed fishing knife or machete used in eastern and southern africa.
n
a type of small, fast, flat-bottomed fishing boat with a sail, used in east africa.
Etymology
the word 'panga' entered english from swahili, where it denotes the broad-bladed knife. the swahili term itself is believed to be a borrowing from a bantu language, possibly kimbundu, where 'mpanga' refers to a kind of hoe or blade. this illustrates a common path of lexical borrowing, where a tool name from a regional language is adopted into a lingua franca like swahili and subsequently into global english, particularly in contexts describing african material culture. the term's application to a type of fishing boat is a secondary, metonymic development in east african coastal regions, named after the tool commonly used by the fishermen.
Analysis
this word is a loanword adopted into english from swahili. its form in english is a simplex, not productively formed from separable english or classical morphemes.
Examples
the fisherman used a panga to cut through the thick netting.
they sailed the panga out to the reef at dawn.
the panga is an essential tool for both agriculture and fishing in many coastal communities.