noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/skɑː/
skä
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
homophone: scar (non-rhotic)
rhymes with -ɑː
CMU ARPABET:S K AA1
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 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.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
Topics: entertainment, lifestyle, music
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Initialism of Square Kilometer Array.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
Topics: astronomy, natural-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
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”.
Across languages
Translations
14 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Dutch:
ska
— style of Jamaican dance music originating in the late 1950s
Esperanto:
skao
— style of Jamaican dance music originating in the late 1950s
Finnish:
ska
— style of Jamaican dance music originating in the late 1950s
French:
ska
— style of Jamaican dance music originating in the late 1950s
German:
Ska
— style of Jamaican dance music originating in the late 1950s
Italian:
ska
— style of Jamaican dance music originating in the late 1950s
Jamaican Creole:
skia
— style of Jamaican dance music originating in the late 1950s
Japanese:
スカ
(suka)
— style of Jamaican dance music originating in the late 1950s
Korean:
스카
(seuka)
— style of Jamaican dance music originating in the late 1950s
Polish:
ska
— style of Jamaican dance music originating in the late 1950s
Portuguese:
ska
— style of Jamaican dance music originating in the late 1950s
Russian:
ска
(ska)
— style of Jamaican dance music originating in the late 1950s
Spanish:
ska
— style of Jamaican dance music originating in the late 1950s
Swedish:
ska
— style of Jamaican dance music originating in the late 1950s