reggae

[ reg-ey ]

noun
  1. a style of Jamaican popular music blending blues, calypso, and rock-'n'-roll, characterized by a strong syncopated rhythm and lyrics of social protest.

Origin of reggae

1
<Jamaican English, respelling of reggay (introduced in the song “Do the Reggay” (1968) by Frederick “Toots” Hibbert), a dance name based on rege, *strege a dowdy or raggedy fellow; compare rege-rege ragged clothing, quarrel, row

Words Nearby reggae

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How to use reggae in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for reggae

reggae

/ (ˈrɛɡeɪ) /


noun
  1. a type of West Indian popular music having four beats to the bar, the upbeat being strongly accented

Origin of reggae

1
C20: of West Indian origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for reggae

reggae

[ (reg-ay) ]


A form of pop music that originated in Jamaica, combining elements of calypso and rhythm and blues (see blues) with a strongly accentuated offbeat. Bob Marley was the first internationally known reggae musician.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.