calypso

Definition

A style of Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago during the early to the mid-19th century and spread to the rest of the Caribbean Antilles and Venezuela by the mid-20th century.

Etymology

Originally Trinidad English, an alteration of kaiso, perhaps ultimately of African origin; Allsopp 1996 suggests Ibibio ka iso (“come on”), used to urge dancers on. The spelling reflects a later folk-etymological assimilation with the mythological name Calypso.

Example Sentences

• "'How you does live, Mr. Wordsworth?' I asked him one day. He said, 'You mean how I get money?' When I nodded, he laughed in a crooked way. He said, 'I sing calypsoes in the calypso season.' 'And that last you the rest of the year?' 'It is enough.'"