cajón

See also: cajon

English

Etymology

From Spanish cajón, augmentative of caja (“box”). Doublet of cajon, caisson, and cassone.

Pronunciation

• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /kəˈhoʊn/

• Audio (Ontario):

  (file)

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

cajón (plural cajóns or cajones)

1. (music) A box-shaped percussion instrument played by slapping the front or rear faces (generally thin plywood) with the hands, fingers, or sometimes various implements.

Derived terms

• cajonist

Translations

box-shaped percussion instrument

• Catalan: caixó (ca) m
• German: Cajón (de) n, Kachon (de) n
• Polish: cajón (pl) m
• Portuguese: cajón m
• Spanish: cajón (es) m

Further reading

• cajón on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Portuguese

Etymology

Etymology tree

Spanish caja

Spanish -ón

Spanish cajónubor.

Portuguese cajón

Unadapted borrowing from Spanish cajón. Doublet of caixão (“coffin”).

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /kaˈʁõ/ [kaˈhõ]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /kaˈʁõ/ [kaˈhõ]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /kaˈʁõ/ [kaˈχõ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /kɐˈʁõ/

• Hyphenation: ca‧jón

Noun

cajón m (plural cajones)

1. (music) cajón (box-shaped percussion instrument)

Spanish

Etymology

From caja (“box”) + -ón (augmentative suffix).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kaˈxon/ [kaˈxõn]
  • Rhymes: -on
• IPA^(key): (Venezuela) [kaˈχõŋ]

  • Audio:

    (file)

  • Rhymes:
• IPA^(key): (Early Modern Spanish) /kaˈʃon/ [kaˈʃõn]
  • Rhymes: -on
• Syllabification: ca‧jón

Noun

cajón m (plural cajones)

1. a large box
2. drawer

   Synonym: gaveta

3. (music) cajón (box-shaped percussion instrument)
4. (Latin America) coffin

   Synonym: ataúd

5. (Argentina, Chile) a valley surrounded by mountains of considerable height, through which a river runs
   • 2010 September 24, Helvio Soto Salles, Riesgos Y Peligros: Exploraciones Geológicas Para La Minería En Gran Altura Geográfica, Palibrio, →ISBN, page 83:

     […] por un cajón o valle encerrado, con poca ventilación, con abundante nieve, lo que provoca una reflexión máxima del sol en un ambiente húmedo próximo a la saturación.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Derived terms

• cajón de sastre
• cajonear
• cajonero
• de cajón
• encajonar

Descendants

• → Cebuano: kahon
• → English: cajón
• → Portuguese: cajón
• → Tagalog: kahon, kason

Further reading

• “cajón”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025
• “cajón”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010
• “cajón”, in Diccionario del español de México, Segunda edición, Academia Mexicana de la Lengua, 2019