Parangs

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Referring to large, broad-bladed knives or machetes traditionally used for cutting through dense vegetation; tools with curved blades often employed in Southeast Asia for clearing brush or woodworking; implements characterized by their weight and sharpness designed for chopping and slicing tasks
2. Denoting heavy, single-edged blades shaped with a curved edge for effective chopping and slashing, typically used in jungle environments; cutting instruments utilized in agricultural, forestry, or survival contexts; edged tools primarily intended for hacking through thick undergrowth or timber
3. Descriptive of sturdy knives with distinctive curved blades commonly used as utility or combat tools in tropical regions; blades optimized for powerful cutting motions, including clearing plants and shaping wood; versatile cutting devices essential to traditional outdoor activities and craftsmanship

Etymology: Parangs is the plural of "parang", a broad-bladed chopping knife long used in Malaysia, Indonesia and the wider Malay world. The word itself is a loan from Malay, where "parang" is the ordinary term for this kind of blade, so English took the tool and its name together. The Spanish connection is the surprising part. The same sound-alike word "parranda" in Spanish means a merry-making or a group of serenaders going from door to door, which has nothing to do with knives. Scholars do not treat the two as related: the Malay word and the Spanish word simply look alike by chance. Because "parang" is a loanword rather than a coinage, its early history in English is tied to European contact with Southeast Asia rather than to any single inventor. Its plural keeps the English -s ending, as it does for most borrowed nouns that have been taken into everyday use.

Synonyms: machetes, cutlasses, knives