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”.

noun

1. (music) 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.
   Everyone who loves ska has their own story to tell—the first time they heard the Specials back in the '70s, the first time they danced onstage at a Toasters show in the '80s, the first time they saw the Skatalites perform in the '90s. 2014, Heather Augustyn, “Preface”, in Ska: An Oral History, McFarland, page 3