Ska
//skɑː// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 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. uncountable
"Musical Hairsplitting: The act of classifying music and musicians into pathologically picayune categories: “The Vienna Franks are a good example of urban white acid folk revivalism crossed with ska.”"
- 2 Initialism of Square Kilometer Array. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
Example
More examples"Musical Hairsplitting: The act of classifying music and musicians into pathologically picayune categories: “The Vienna Franks are a good example of urban white acid folk revivalism crossed with ska.”"
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”.
Related phrases
More for "ska"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.