Standard Lemma guide

ska

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