# calypso

> English word · Noun · IPA /kəˈlɪp.səʊ/ · frequency rank #34,416

## Definitions
1. 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.
2. A song in this style of music.

## Etymology
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.

## Common misspellings (11)
`aclypso`, `callypso`, `calpyso`, `calypos`, `calyppso`, `calypsso`, `calyspo`, `calyypso`, `caylpso`, `ccalypso`, `claypso`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/calypso