masenqo

M3A1S1E1N1Q10O1

noun

A single-stringed bowed lute commonly used by Ethiopian azmaris.

Scrabble 18

Meanings

nounmasenqo (plural masenqos)

plural masenqos · alternative masinko · alternative mesenko

  1. A single-stringed bowed lute commonly used by Ethiopian azmaris.

    The masenqo also accompanies, though played outside the church, the celebration of Epiphany (Temquat), which is the most important and holiest holiday of the Ethopian Orthodox Church.

    2017, Siegbert Uhlig, David Appleyard, Alessandro Bausi, Wolfgang Hahn, Steven Kaplan, editors, Ethiopia: History, Culture and Challenges, Michigan State University Press, →ISBN, page 211
    1 more example

    His playing, full of clustered filigree and loosely rendered rhythms, nods toward Ethiopia’s tradition of solitary folk playing, typically on the krar or the masinko, both stringed instruments.

    2018 February 20, Giovanni Russonello, “An African Funk Pioneer Gets a Second Chance on a Global Stage”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC

Origin

  1. Amharicማሲንቆ
  2. Englishmasenqo

Borrowed from Amharic ማሲንቆ (masinḳo).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

masenqo. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/masenqo

MLA

“masenqo.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/masenqo. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “masenqo,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/masenqo.

Source: masenqo on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.