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  • Calypso
    Calypso
    noun
    Also Kalypso a sea nymph who detained Odysseus on the island of Ogygia for seven years.
  • calypso
    calypso
    noun
    a popular type of satirical, usually topical, West Indian ballad, esp from Trinidad, usually extemporized to a percussive syncopated accompaniment

Calypso

American  
[kuh-lip-soh] / kəˈlɪp soʊ /

noun

Calypsos plural
  1. Classical Mythology. Also Kalypso a sea nymph who detained Odysseus on the island of Ogygia for seven years.

  2. Also called fairy-slipper(lowercase) a terrestrial orchid, Calypso bulbosa, of the Northern Hemisphere, having a single variegated purple, yellow, and white flower.

  3. (lowercase) a musical style of West Indian origin, influenced by jazz, usually having topical, often improvised, lyrics.


verb (used without object)

  1. (lowercase) to sing or dance to calypso.

calypso 1 British  
/ kəˈlɪpsəʊ /

noun

  1. a popular type of satirical, usually topical, West Indian ballad, esp from Trinidad, usually extemporized to a percussive syncopated accompaniment

  2. a dance done to the rhythm of this song

"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

Calypso 2 British  
/ kəˈlɪpsəʊ /

noun

  1. Greek myth (in Homer's Odyssey ) a sea nymph who detained Odysseus on the island of Ogygia for seven years

"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

calypso 3 British  
/ kəˈlɪpsəʊ /

noun

  1. a rare N temperate orchid, Calypso (or Cytherea ) bulbosa, whose flower is pink or white with purple and yellow markings

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Etymology

Origin of Calypso

The name of the musical style is of obscure origin and perhaps only copies the spelling of Calypso the sea nymph

Vocabulary lists containing calypso

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Charlize Theron is appropriately enchanting as Calypso, whose charms waylay and confuse Odysseus.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 15, 2026

The Calypso role is much expanded from the original story and Theron makes the most of it.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 7, 2026

With Calypso now safely back in the stables, Shams is undeterred by what has happened and has big ambitions.

From BBC Aug. 11, 2024

Another potential prospect is the Calypso field, off the coast of the island of Tobago, which could be the nation’s first deepwater gas field.

From New York Times May 15, 2023

He couldn’t even blame Calypso, the girl he’d left alone on that island.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

"St. Thomas," which appeared on "Saxophone Colossus" and became his best-known song, incorporated Caribbean calypso that he had heard as a child.

From Barron's May 26, 2026

One of the tracks, a brightly melodic calypso theme titled “St. Thomas,” is Rollins’ best known composition, and a standard in the lexicon of jazz tunes.

From Los Angeles Times May 26, 2026

Mr. Cliff entered these contests early and began writing songs that were a mash of ska, rock-steady and calypso, globally popular then thanks to a string of hits by Harry Belafonte.

From The Wall Street Journal Nov. 24, 2025

Tiger Bay became well-known for jazz musicians, calypso bands and blues parties.

From BBC Oct. 22, 2023

The noise hit me like a roar—the slot machines clanging, people laughing and hooting, some lame calypso band mangling a Jimmy Buffett song.

From "Flush" by Carl Hiaasen

And the Laird of Cockpen either marries the next young lady on his list, or, departing to far lands, discovers that the supply of Calypsos and Ariadnes is practically unlimited.

From The Crooked Stick or Pollies's Probation by Boldrewood, Rolf

Ah, these Aspasias, these Circes, these Calypsos, these Cleopatras, with their blue, their gray, their amber eyes!

From Man on the Box by MacGrath, Harold

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