soukous

noun

sou·kous ˈsü-ˌküs

: popular guitar-driven dance music created in the Democratic Republic of the Congo under the influence of Cuban rumba

Word History

Etymology

African French (of Brazzaville and Kinshasa) soucous, soukous, a dance popular in the late 1960s, alteration of French secousse jolt, jerk

First Known Use

1982, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of soukous was in 1982

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Soukous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/soukous. Accessed 23 Mar. 2023.

Copy Citation

Word of the Day

symbiosis

Listen to the pronunciation of symbiosis

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Test Your Vocabulary

What Did You Just Call Me?

Before we went to her house, Hannah told us her aunt was a flibbertigibbet.

Insulting Complimentary

Hear a word and type it out. How many can you get right?

TAKE THE QUIZ

Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can with using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.

Can you make 12 words with 7 letters?

PLAY