Etymology

calypso

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Today it means: 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. Full definition →

Ibibio ka iso
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calypso · noun, verb1

  1. Ibibio · derived fromka iso“come on”
  2. English todaycalypso

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.

calypso · noun2

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromΚαλυψώ“name of a sea nymph”
  2. English todaycalypso

From Latin, itself from Ancient Greek Καλυψώ (Kalupsṓ, “name of a sea nymph”)

Calypso · proper noun3

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromΚᾰλῠψώ
  2. English todayCalypso

From Ancient Greek Κᾰλῠψώ (Kălŭpsṓ).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.