tanga

¹ American  

[tuhng-gah] / təŋˈgɑ /

noun

1. either of two former coins of India, one gold and one silver, issued by various Muslim rulers.

2. a former coin of Portuguese India, equal to the 10th part of a rupee.

3. a former silver coin of Tibet of varying weight and fineness.

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Tanga ² American  

[tang-guh] / ˈtæŋ gə /

noun

1. a seaport in NE Tanzania.

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tanga ¹ British  

/ ˈtæŋɡə /

noun

1. a triangular loincloth worn by indigenous peoples in tropical America

2. a type of very brief bikini

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Tanga ² British  

/ ˈtæŋɡə /

noun

1. a port in N Tanzania, on the Indian Ocean: Tanzania's second port. Pop: 190 000 (2005 est)

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Etymology

Origin of tanga

First recorded in 1590–1600, tanga is from the Hindi word taṅgā

Example Sentences

Loa means long, and tanga, a bag; or, as an adjective, freedom from restriction.

From Samoa, A Hundred Years Ago And Long Before by Turner, George

May not the dinár of red gold have been the gold mohr of those days, popularly known as the red tanga, which Ibn Batuta repeatedly tells us was equal to 2-1/2 dinárs of the west.

From The Travels of Marco Polo — Volume 2 by Yule, Henry

The Challaine is of tinne with the said armes, and 40 of these make a tanga of Goa good money, but not stamped in Malacca.

From The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 09 Asia, Part II by Hakluyt, Richard

Everything was put by except his knife, and this, drawn from his tanga, was now held tightly in his grasp.

From Afloat in the Forest A Voyage among the Tree-Tops by Reid, Mayne