Meanings
plural kecapis
- alternativeAlternative form of kacapi.
These stories have been handed down from generation to generation in the form of ballads, performed with accompanying music by the "kecapi," a kind of zither.
1967, Focus on Indonesia, page 271 more example
She attributes the initial idea to her husband, who suggested combining the kecapi with suling in 1960, shortly after their move to the kabupaten Sidenreng-Rappang (Sidrap), where he had been assigned as district head (Ind. bupati).
2002, R. Anderson Sutton, Calling Back the Spirit: Music, Dance, and Cultural Politics in Lowland South Sulawesi, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 55
Origin
- Sanskritकच्छपी“lute”
- Sundaneseᮊᮎᮕᮤ“zither”
- Indonesiankecapi
- Englishkecapi
From Indonesian kecapi, from Sundanese ᮊᮎᮕᮤ (kacapi, “zither”), probably from Sanskrit कच्छपी (kacchapī, “lute”).
More words from Indonesian, Sundanese, Sanskrit
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
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Cite this entry
kecapi. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kecapi
“kecapi.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kecapi. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kecapi,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kecapi.
Source: kecapi on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.