calypsonian

noun, plural Ca·lyp·sos.

1. Also Kalypso. Classical Mythology. a sea nymph who detained Odysseus on the island of Ogygia for seven years.
2. (lowercase) Also called fairy-slipper. 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)

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

noun

1. a performer or writer of calypsos

noun plural -sos

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

noun plural -sos

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

noun

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

sea nymph in the “Odyssey,” literally “hidden, hider” (perhaps originally a death goddess) from Greek kalyptein “to cover, conceal,” from PIE *kel- “to cover, conceal, save,” root of English Hell (see cell). The West Indian type of song is so called from 1934, of unknown origin or connection to the nymph.