1
Stage 1 of 2
xalam
Wolof · traditional
"a West African plucked lute"
blends xala ("to cast a spell") with the onomatopoeic kalam, echoing the instrument's thumping sound
2
Stage 2 of 2
xalam
English · 1900s
"a traditional West African stringed lute"
adopted into English ethnomusicology writing, sometimes noted as an ancestor of the American banjo
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