ska

[ skah ]

/ skɑ /

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noun

a modern style of vocalized Jamaican popular music, which emerged in the 1950s as a blend of African-Jamaican folk music, calypso, and American rhythm and blues, notable for its shuffling, scratchlike tempo and jazzlike horn riffs on the offbeat.

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Compare reggae, rock steady.

Origin of ska

First recorded in 1960–65; of obscure origin

Words nearby ska

S.J.D., sjoe, S.J. Res., SK, SK8, ska, skag, Skagen, Skagerrak, Skagway, skald

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ska in a sentence

Quite apart from their role as precursors for the SKA, both telescopes have been hugely successful in their own right, making major discoveries in their first years of operation.
‘Odd Radio Circles’ That Baffled Astronomers Are Likely Explosions From Distant Galaxies|Ray Norris|April 1, 2022|Singularity Hub
I E ska tarry, Gk kta possess; Dak kta defer, tarry, used also as sign of future tense.
The Dakotan Languages, and Their Relations to Other Languages|Andrew Woods Williamson
What I want is to drive every pony across the Wakon and up the Ska valley, where we'll find support.
Under Fire|Charles King
Wakea Ska (White Lodge) said he would go, and the rest of us followed.
The Spirit Lake Massacre|Thomas Teakle

Ho som so gjilt kan po Langoleik spelo,Svanaug den vena, ska no væra mi!
Strife and Peace|Fredrika Bremer
Ska man' dros, or Scamander—a river of the Troad or plains of Troy.
Odysseus, the Hero of Ithaca|Homer

British Dictionary definitions for ska

ska

/ (skɑː) /

noun

a type of West Indian pop music of the 1960s, accented on the second and fourth beats of a four-beat bar

Word Origin for ska

C20: origin unknown

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