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calypso

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The definition of calypso is a type of improvised music sung by the native people of Trinidad.

(adjective)

An example of calypso is Carribean world music.

Calypso is defined as a sea nymph character from Homer's Odyssey.

(noun)

An example of Calypso is the character in Odyssey who keeps Odysseus on her island for seven years.

A Calypso is a pink orchid flower with purple or yellow marks.

(noun)

An example of a Calypso is an orchid found in the forests of Washington state.

See calypso in Webster's New World College Dictionary

adjective

designating or of songs improvised and sung as originally by the native people of Trinidad: they are satirical ballads, usually topical, characterized by wrenched syllabic stress and syncopated rhythms

Origin: altered < ? Trinidad patois kaiso, town crier, who gave news in rhythm and doggerel

noun pl. calypsos

a calypso song or calypso music

noun

in Homer's Odyssey, a sea nymph who keeps Odysseus on her island for seven years
pl. Calypsos an orchid (Calypso bulbosa) growing in boggy regions of the Northern Hemisphere: its solitary pink flower has purple or yellow markings

Origin: L < Gr Kalypsō < kalyptein: see calyptra

See calypso in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun pl. ca·lyp·sos

A terrestrial orchid (Calypso bulbosa) native to northern temperate regions, having a rose-pink flower with an inflated pouchlike lip usually marked with white, purple, and yellow.

Origin:

Origin: Probably Latin Calypsō, Calypso; see calypso ¹

noun

Greek Mythology A sea nymph who delayed Odysseus on her island, Ogygia, for seven years.
A satellite of Saturn.

Origin:

Origin: Latin Calypsō

Origin: , from Greek Kalupsō

Origin: , from kaluptein, to conceal; see kel-¹ in Indo-European roots

or ca·lyp·so

noun pl. Ca·lyp·sos or ca·lyp·sos also Ca·lyp·soes or ca·lyp·soes

A type of music that originated in the West Indies, notably in Trinidad, and is characterized by improvised lyrics on topical or broadly humorous subjects.

Origin:

Origin: Origin unknown

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