panga

Meaning

Noun

• A large broad-bladed knife.
• Any of various edible freshwater fish of the genus Pangasius, native to southeast Asia, especially the iridescent shark, Pangasius hypophthalmus (species), now reclassified as Pangasianodon hypophthalmus (species).
• A type of modest-sized, open, outboard-powered, fishing boat common throughout much of the developing world, including Central America, the Caribbean, parts of Africa, the Middle East, and much of Asia.
• A small inflatable motorboat used in Latin America.

Origin

• From Swahili panga.
• Back-formation from the plural, from the stem of New Latin Pangasius (genus name), from Bengali পাঙ্গাশ, ultimately from Sanskrit पङ्क ("mud").
• From Spanish panga.