kenceng

Indonesian

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Javanese ꦏꦼꦚ꧀ꦕꦼꦁ (kenceng, “tight; straight, direct; strong”), ꦏꦼꦚ꧀ꦕꦁ (kencang, “to stretch and tie”), from Malay kencang, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *kcəŋ (“stretched, to stretch”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kən.t͡ʃəŋ/
• Hyphenation: kên‧cêng

Adjective

kêncêng

1. Informal form of kencang.
2. (colloquial, vulgar) high, ecstatic primarily (but not exclusively) from the use of drugs
   • 2006, Andre Syahreza, The Innocent Rebel, GagasMedia, page 193:

     Kalau lagi dugem, yang penting suara musiknya harus keras, supaya tambah kenceng,

     The important thing when you are in a club is for the music to be loud, so that you feel high and ecstatic,

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Peranakan Indonesian kenceng (“bow drill”), from Teochew 弓 (gêng¹, “bow”) + 鑽／钻 (zeng³, “drill”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈkɛnt͡ʃɛŋ]
• Hyphenation: kèn‧cèng

Noun

kèncèng (first-person possessive kencengku, second-person possessive kencengmu, third-person possessive kencengnya)

1. bow drill.

Etymology 3

From Malay kenceng.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈkɛnt͡ʃɛŋ]
• Hyphenation: kèn‧cèng

Noun

kèncèng (first-person possessive kencengku, second-person possessive kencengmu, third-person possessive kencengnya)

1. cauldron

Further reading

• “kenceng” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Javanese

Romanization

kenceng

1. Romanization of ꦏꦼꦚ꧀ꦕꦼꦁ
2. Alternative spelling of kèncèng. Romanization of ꦏꦺꦚ꧀ꦕꦺꦁ

Peranakan Indonesian

Etymology

Borrowed from Teochew 弓 (gêng¹, “bow”) + 鑽／钻 (zeng³, “drill”).

Noun

kenceng

1. bow drill

Descendants

• → Indonesian: kenceng