noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A genre of music of Indonesian origin typically featuring metallophones, xylophones, drums, gongs and a bamboo flute (called a suling). countable, uncountable
2. 2
   a traditional Indonesian ensemble typically including many tuned percussion instruments including bamboo xylophones and wooden or bronze chimes and gongs wordnet
3. 3
   An ensemble performing this style of music. countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms

batterybellbonescastanetscelestachime

Etymology

Borrowed from Javanese gamelan, from Old Javanese gamĕlan.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.