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

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.