Definition of "calypso" [ca•lyp•so]

• A terrestrial orchid (Calypso bulbosa) native to northern temperate regions, having a rose-pink flower with an inflated pouchlike lip usually marked with white, purple, and yellow. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "But it also had strong roots in calypso and other Carribbean folk forms."
• "It could not exactly be described as calypso cricket but the crucial element was that they did not play the familiar refrain of calypso collapso."
• "Dominican Republic etc. I hear more Latino music than I do reggae usually, although I've heard a lot of what's called calypso-usually involving steel drums."