Calypso definition
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.
noun
A calypso song or calypso music.
noun
Calypso is defined as a sea nymph character from Homer's Odyssey.
An example of Calypso is the character in Odyssey who keeps Odysseus on her island for seven years.
noun
A Calypso is a pink orchid flower with purple or yellow marks.
An example of a Calypso is an orchid found in the forests of Washington state.
noun
The definition of calypso is a type of improvised music sung by the native people of Trinidad.
An example of calypso is Carribean world music.
adjective
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A sea nymph who delayed Odysseus on her island, Ogygia, for seven years.
noun
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.
noun
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.
adjective
(person, proper) In Homer's Odyssey, a sea nymph who keeps Odysseus on her island for seven years.
noun
An orchid (Calypso bulbosa) growing in boggy regions of the Northern Hemisphere: its solitary pink flower has purple or yellow markings.
noun
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A type of music and dance that originated in the West Indies (perhaps Trinidad), a ballad is characterized by improvised lyrics on topical or broadly humorous subjects, often creating satire of current events.
noun
pronoun
Alternative capitalization of calypso.
pronoun
Other Word Forms
Noun
Singular:
calypso
Plural:
calypsoes, calypsosOrigin of calypso
- Probably alteration (influenced by Calypso in reference to the nymph's island home) of Caribbean English kaliso variant of kariso variant of kaiso bravo (shout of approval for a Calypsonian's performance), Calypso music from ka iso! shout of encouragement with which West Indian slaves accompanied singers singing satirical songs about plantation owners and overseers from Efik ka isu go on (imperative form) (from ka go, advance) (isu face, front, forward) and its Ibibio equivalent kaa iso
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- Latin Calypsō from Greek Kalupsō from kaluptein to conceal kel-1 in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- Probably Latin Calypsō Calypso Calypso1
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- 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.
From Wiktionary
- From Latin, itself from Ancient Greek Καλυψώ (Kalypsō, “name of a sea nymph”)
From Wiktionary