Etymology

Probably from a Vulgar Latin root *centipollium, from Latin centipellium, centipellio ‎(“third stomach of a ruminant”) < centum + pellium, as bagpipes were made from animal stomachs. Compare also Italian centopelle ‎(“tripe”). Less likely from Latin symphonia (compare Italian zampogna) or Hungarian csimpolya, which seems more likely to have come from the Romanian word.