panga

American  

[pahng-guh] / ˈpɑŋ gə /

noun

1. a large, broad-bladed African knife used as a weapon or as an implement for cutting heavy jungle growth, sugarcane, etc.; machete.

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panga British  

/ ˈpæŋɡə /

noun

1. a broad heavy knife of E Africa, used as a tool or weapon

2. a small fishing boat first developed in Japan and now used chiefly in US and Central American waters

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Etymology

Origin of panga

Borrowed into English from Swahili around 1930–35

Example Sentences

Alcarez piloted a panga boat — a small, fishing-style vessel often used by human smugglers — to illegally bring an estimated 12 people into the United States from Mexico, prosecutors said.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 12, 2023

The caller said that another panga boat had capsized, with eight to 10 people in the water.

From New York Times • Mar. 12, 2023

My angling partner, Ken Matsumoto, stepped to the bow of the panga and peeled fly line from his reel.

From Washington Post • Apr. 1, 2022

U.S. border agents found a dead migrant on an abandoned panga fishing boat in Carlsbad this past April.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 19, 2021

She had a panga and Uncle Kufa’s broken knife.

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer