calypso
calypso Lexical Profile
calypso Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A style of Afro-Caribbean music originating in Trinidad and Tobago, characterized by syncopated rhythms and witty, topical, or satirical lyrics, or a song or dance performed in this style.
"The street festival came alive with the steel drums and upbeat rhythms of traditional Trinidadian calypso."
A small, hardy bulbous orchid (Calypso bulbosa) native to cool northern and montane forests of North America and Eurasia, bearing a single basal leaf and a solitary, nodding pink-to-purple slipper-like blossom crested with yellow hairs.
"While hiking through the shaded pine forest, we spotted a delicate pink calypso blooming in the damp moss."
• Rhymes for calypso
Word Origin & Etymology
For the Caribbean musical genre, the exact origin is uncertain, though it likely derives from West African (possibly Efik 'ka-iso' meaning 'go on!') and French Creole influences in Trinidad. The orchid genus is named via Modern Latin after Calypso, the sea nymph of Greek mythology whose name stems from Ancient Greek 'kalyptein' ('to conceal'), alluding to the plant's hidden, shaded habitat.