Dictionary.com

charanga

[ chuh-rahng-guh; Spanish chah-rahng-gah ]
/ tʃəˈrɑŋ gə; Spanish tʃɑˈrɑŋ gɑ /
Save This Word!

noun
a type of Cuban dance music performed by violins, flutes, timbales, simple percussion instruments, piano, double bass, and vocalists.
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

Origin of charanga

First recorded in 1925–30; from Latin American Spanish (Cuba, Puerto Rico), shortening of charanga francesca “French band, Haitian Creole band,” from Spanish charanga “brass band, informal orchestra” + francesca “French.” Refugees from Haiti fleeing the Haitian Revolution in the early 19th century introduced the music and dance form into Cuba; see origin at charango
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

British Dictionary definitions for charanga

charanga
/ (ˌtʃæˈræŋɡə) /

noun
a type of orchestra used in performing traditional Cuban music

Word Origin for charanga

Spanish
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
FEEDBACK