Etymology

bebop

B3E1B3O1P3

Today it means: An early form of modern jazz played by small groups and featuring driving rhythms and complex, often dissonant harmonies. Full definition →

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The story

Alteration of earlier rebop, nonsense syllables used in scat singing in the 1940s. Compare doo be doo be doo, doo-wop, etc.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.