calypso

Meanings

1. 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.
2. A song in this style of music.

1. To perform calypso.

1. A bulbous bog orchid of the genus Calypso, Calypso bulbosa
2. A light blue color.

1. A sea nymph who entertained Odysseus on her island, Ogygia, for seven years.
2. The eighth moon of Saturn.
3. 53 Kalypso, a main belt asteroid; not to be confused with the Saturnian moon mentioned above.
4. Alternative letter-case form of calypso.

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.