Word of the Day

: September 1, 2019

calliope

noun kuh-LYE-uh-pee

What It Means

1 capitalized Calliope : the Greek Muse of heroic poetry

2 : a keyboard musical instrument resembling an organ and consisting of a series of whistles sounded by steam or compressed air

calliope in Context

The distant song of a calliope let everyone know the carnival was back in town.

"And on Saturday, Minns, now 22, once again took his place behind the keyboard on the nearly 100-year-old calliope blasting out jovial circus tunes to the crowds that lined the streets during the longest running and only circus parade left in the country." — Carson Gerber, The Rushville (Indiana) Republican, 21 July 2019

Did You Know?

With a name literally meaning "beautiful-voiced" (from kallos, meaning "beauty," and ops, meaning "voice"), Calliope was the most prominent of the Muses—the nine sister goddesses who in Greek mythology presided over poetry, song, and the arts and sciences. She is represented in art as holding an epic poem in one hand and a trumpet in the other. The musical instrument invented and patented in the 1850s, played by forcing steam or compressed air through a series of whistles, was named after the goddess. Because its sound could be heard for miles around, the calliope was effective in luring patrons to river showboats, circuses, and carnivals, which is why the instrument continues its association with such attractions today.