bongo

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈbɒŋ.ɡəʊ/ (UK); /ˈbɑŋ.ɡoʊ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

The drum is borrowed from Spanish bongó from Caribbean Spanish,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} of West African (Bantu) origin;^[3][4] Lokele boungu has been compared.^[3][4] The antelope's name is a separate word from a Bantu language,^[2][5][6] perhaps Kele of Gabon^[5] or related to Lingala mongu “antelope”.^[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The antelope is named in English from 1861;^[4][5][7] the drum, one of a pair of small Cuban drums, from 1920.^[3][4][5][7]

Semantic evolution

The drum became known in the U.S. in 1929, when the Cuban government banned bongos.^[4] Bongo drums were part of Cuban rumba orchestras in the U.S. by 1941 and of bop combos by 1949.^[4]

Timeline

• 1861 – the African antelope.^[4][5][7]
• 1920 – the Cuban drum.^[3][4][5][7]
• 1929 – the drums banned in Cuba.^[4]
• 1941 – in Cuban rumba bands in the U.S.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Either of a pair of small connected drums of different pitches, held between the knees and played with the hands.
2. A large reddish-brown forest antelope of central Africa, with narrow white stripes and spirally twisted horns.

Verb

1. To play the bongos.

Word family

• bongoist

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press