Meanings
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1
noun
a hollow wooden slit drum of central Mexico, especially associated with Aztec and related cultures, sounded by striking two carved tongues
The musician struck the two tongues of the teponaztli with rubber-headed beaters.
Thesaurus
Synonyms
1
noun
· a hollow wooden slit drum...
Aztec slit drumMexican slit drum
Word family
Derived forms
teponaztlis
Related forms
slit drumidiophoneNahuatlhuehuetl
Etymology
Borrowed from Classical Nahuatl teponaztli, the name of the hollow wooden percussion instrument. Its H-shaped slit creates two flexible tongues that can be tuned to different pitches.