parang

American  

[pahr-ahng] / ˈpɑr ɑŋ /

noun

1. a large, heavy knife used as a tool or a weapon in Malaysia and Indonesia.

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parang British  

/ ˈpɑːræŋ /

noun

1. a short stout straight-edged knife used by the Dyaks of Borneo

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Etymology

Origin of parang

Borrowed into English from Malay around 1850–55

Example Sentences

Houses and malls in the Trinidadian capital Port of Spain are festively decorated and the steelpan drums and maracas of local parang carols drift from radios and television sets.

From The Guardian

Growing up in Trinidad to a musical family, Etienne Charles was exposed to three song traditions around Christmastime: the singing of church hymns, calypsos and parang, Venezuelan folk songs about the nativity sung in Spanish.

From Washington Post

We hired a guide who led us up and down a sodden trail, a foot-long blade called a parang hanging from a scabbard at his hip.

From New York Times

He sprang back off the veranda and ran to his quarters where the men were arming themselves with ugly krises and heavy parangs.

From Project Gutenberg

The parang, or chopper, or cutlass, is always carried by a Malay, being used for all kinds of work, agricultural and other, and is also a useful weapon of offence or defence.

From Project Gutenberg