# ska

> English word · Noun · IPA /skɑː/ · frequency rank #27,287

## Definitions
1. A style of Jamaican dance music originating in the late 1950s, combining elements of Caribbean calypso and mento with American jazz and rhythm and blues; it was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae.

## Etymology
Origin uncertain. Probably imitative of the crisp guitar sound; other suggestions include a contraction of “skavoovie” (a word invented and used by musician Cluett Johnson), or of “speed polka”.

## Easily confused with
- **so** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ska-vs-so)
- **SS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ska-vs-ss)
- **SP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ska-vs-sp)
- **su** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ska-vs-su)
- **SM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ska-vs-sm)
- **SW** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ska-vs-sw)
- **SL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ska-vs-sl)
- **SV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ska-vs-sv)
- **Sy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ska-vs-sy)
- **son** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ska-vs-son)
- **sun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ska-vs-sun)
- **sky** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ska-vs-sky)
- **sub** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ska-vs-sub)
- **sum** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ska-vs-sum)
- **spy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ska-vs-spy)
- **sue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ska-vs-sue)
- **ski** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ska-vs-ski)
- **spa** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ska-vs-spa)
- **sox** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ska-vs-sox)
- **sol** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ska-vs-sol)

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