reggae

See also: Reggae

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:

reggae

Wikipedia

Alternative forms

• reggay

Etymology

From Jamaican Creole rege (“rags; a quarrel”), see rag; originally used in the 1960s to describe a Jamaican dance. Compare ragtime. Broader musical sense popularized by the 1968 Maytals song “Do the Reggay”.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɹɛɡeɪ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛɡeɪ

Noun

reggae (uncountable)

1. (Rastafari, music, originally dance) A music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s and is heavily associated with Rastafarianism, featuring a heavy bass line and percussive rhythm guitar on the offbeat, often with close vocal harmonies.

   Near-synonym: (earlier) bluebeat

   • 1968, Toots Hibbert, “Do the Reggay”, performed by The Maytals:

     I want to do the reggay with you / Come onto me, do the dance

   • 1978, 05:35 from the start, in Wolfgang Büld, director, 'Reggae In a Babylon (film (documentary)), spoken by Dennis Bovell (as himself, a member of the band Matumbi):

     I mean, the very name reggae. I mean, it wasn’t called reggae in the first place. It came from blue beat, just ska, you know? Ska and blue beat, the era, and then reggae. Because it was a dance, originally. And the DJs thought, “That’s a nice name,” and the kept saying “reggae music, reggae music” on the air all the time. “Reggae music, reggae music, the DJs on the radio. So everyone kept on saying “Reggae music”. They classed it as …(other Matumbi band members join in) Reggae.

Derived terms

• cod reggae
• reggae fusion
• reggaeish
• reggae rock
• reggaeton
• rockers reggae
• roots reggae
• seggae

Translations

music genre

Antillean Creole: wégé m, régé m Arabic: رِيغِي (rīḡī) Hijazi Arabic: ريقي m (rēgē) Armenian: ռեգգի (ṙeggi) Bulgarian: реге n (rege) Chinese: Mandarin: 雷吉樂 / 雷吉乐 (léijíyuè), 雷鬼樂 / 雷鬼乐 (léiguǐyuè), 雷蓋樂 / 雷盖乐 (léigàiyuè), 瑞格樂 / 瑞格乐 (ruìgéyuè) Corsican: reggae m Esperanto: regeo Finnish: reggae (fi) French: reggae (fr) m Georgian: რეგი (regi) German: Reggae (de) m Greek: ρέγκε (el) (régke) Haitian Creole: rege m Icelandic: reggí n Indonesian: rege Italian: reggae (it) m Jamaican Creole: rege Japanese: レゲエ (regē) Kazakh: регги (reggi) Korean: 레게 (ko) (rege) Malay: rege, reggae Malayalam: റെഗ്ഗെ (ṟegge) Maori: rekereke Polish: reggae (pl) n Portuguese: reggae (pt) m Russian: ре́гги (ru) m (rɛ́ggi), рэ́гги m (rɛ́ggi) Serbo-Croatian: реге m (rege) Spanish: reggae (es) m Swedish: reggae (sv) c Tamil: ரெகே (rekē) Turkish: reggae Yoruba: régè

Anagrams

• raggee, agrégé, regage

Finnish

Etymology

Borrowed from English reggae.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈreɡeː/, [ˈre̞ɡe̞ː]
• Rhymes: -eɡeː
• Syllabification^(key): reg‧gae
• Hyphenation^(key): reg‧gae

Noun

reggae

1. reggae

Declension

Inflection of reggae (Kotus type 21/rosé, no gradation)
nominative		reggae	reggaet
genitive		reggaen	reggaeiden reggaeitten
partitive		reggaetä	reggaeitä
illative		reggaehen reggaehin	reggaeihin
		singular	plural
nominative		reggae	reggaet
accusative	nom.	reggae	reggaet
	gen.	reggaen
genitive		reggaen	reggaeiden reggaeitten
partitive		reggaetä	reggaeitä
inessive		reggaessä	reggaeissä
elative		reggaestä	reggaeistä
illative		reggaehen reggaehin	reggaeihin
adessive		reggaellä	reggaeillä
ablative		reggaeltä	reggaeiltä
allative		reggaelle	reggaeille
essive		reggaenä	reggaeinä
translative		reggaeksi	reggaeiksi
abessive		reggaettä	reggaeittä
instructive		—	reggaein
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of reggae (Kotus type 21/rosé, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative reggaeni reggaeni accusative nom. reggaeni reggaeni gen. reggaeni genitive reggaeni reggaeideni reggaeitteni partitive reggaetäni reggaeitäni inessive reggaessäni reggaeissäni elative reggaestäni reggaeistäni illative reggaeheni reggaehini reggaeihini adessive reggaelläni reggaeilläni ablative reggaeltäni reggaeiltäni allative reggaelleni reggaeilleni essive reggaenäni reggaeinäni translative reggaekseni reggaeikseni abessive reggaettäni reggaeittäni instructive — — comitative — reggaeineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative reggaesi reggaesi accusative nom. reggaesi reggaesi gen. reggaesi genitive reggaesi reggaeidesi reggaeittesi partitive reggaetäsi reggaeitäsi inessive reggaessäsi reggaeissäsi elative reggaestäsi reggaeistäsi illative reggaehesi reggaehisi reggaeihisi adessive reggaelläsi reggaeilläsi ablative reggaeltäsi reggaeiltäsi allative reggaellesi reggaeillesi essive reggaenäsi reggaeinäsi translative reggaeksesi reggaeiksesi abessive reggaettäsi reggaeittäsi instructive — — comitative — reggaeinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative reggaemme reggaemme accusative nom. reggaemme reggaemme gen. reggaemme genitive reggaemme reggaeidemme reggaeittemme partitive reggaetämme reggaeitämme inessive reggaessämme reggaeissämme elative reggaestämme reggaeistämme illative reggaehemme reggaehimme reggaeihimme adessive reggaellämme reggaeillämme ablative reggaeltämme reggaeiltämme allative reggaellemme reggaeillemme essive reggaenämme reggaeinämme translative reggaeksemme reggaeiksemme abessive reggaettämme reggaeittämme instructive — — comitative — reggaeinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative reggaenne reggaenne accusative nom. reggaenne reggaenne gen. reggaenne genitive reggaenne reggaeidenne reggaeittenne partitive reggaetänne reggaeitänne inessive reggaessänne reggaeissänne elative reggaestänne reggaeistänne illative reggaehenne reggaehinne reggaeihinne adessive reggaellänne reggaeillänne ablative reggaeltänne reggaeiltänne allative reggaellenne reggaeillenne essive reggaenänne reggaeinänne translative reggaeksenne reggaeiksenne abessive reggaettänne reggaeittänne instructive — — comitative — reggaeinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative reggaensä reggaensä accusative nom. reggaensä reggaensä gen. reggaensä genitive reggaensä reggaeidensä reggaeittensä partitive reggaetään reggaetänsä reggaeitään reggaeitänsä inessive reggaessään reggaessänsä reggaeissään reggaeissänsä elative reggaestään reggaestänsä reggaeistään reggaeistänsä illative reggaehensä reggaehinsä reggaeihinsä adessive reggaellään reggaellänsä reggaeillään reggaeillänsä ablative reggaeltään reggaeltänsä reggaeiltään reggaeiltänsä allative reggaelleen reggaellensä reggaeilleen reggaeillensä essive reggaenään reggaenänsä reggaeinään reggaeinänsä translative reggaekseen reggaeksensä reggaeikseen reggaeiksensä abessive reggaettään reggaettänsä reggaeittään reggaeittänsä instructive — — comitative — reggaeineen reggaeinensä

Derived terms

compounds

• reggaemusiikki
• reggaeyhtye

Further reading

• “reggae”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎ (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 3 July 2023

French

Etymology

From Jamaican Creole rege (“rags; a quarrel”), see rag.

Noun

reggae m (plural reggaes)

1. (music) reggae

Further reading

• “reggae”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Malay

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English reggae.

Noun

reggae (Jawi spelling ريݢي, plural reggae-reggae or reggae²)

1. alternative spelling of rege

Further reading

• "reggae" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017

Polish

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:

reggae

Wikipedia ^pl

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English reggae.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈrɛ.ɡɛ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛɡɛ
• Syllabification: re‧ggae
• Homophone: Regę

Noun

reggae n (indeclinable, related adjective reggae'owy or reggaeowy)

1. reggae (music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s and is heavily associated with Rastafarianism, featuring a heavy bass line and percussive rhythm guitar on the offbeat, often with close vocal harmonies)

Further reading

• reggae in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• reggae in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• reggae in PWN's encyclopedia

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English reggae. In Brazil, the ⟨a⟩ in ⟨ae⟩ is silent like in Latin terms, e.g. Archaea.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʁɛ.ɡi/ [ˈhɛ.ɡi]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʁɛ.ɡi/ [ˈhɛ.ɡi]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈʁɛ.ɡi/ [ˈχɛ.ɡi]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʁɛ.ɡe/ [ˈhɛ.ɡe]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈʁɛ.ɡɐj/ [ˈʁɛ.ɣɐj]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈʁɛ.ɡɐj/ [ˈʁɛ.ɣɐj]
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈʁɛ.ɡej/ [ˈʁɛ.ɣej]
  • (Central Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈʁɛ.ɡej/ [ˈʁɛ.ɣej]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈʁɛ.ɡe/ [ˈʁɛ.ɣe]

• Rhymes: (Brazil) -ɛɡi
• Homophone: (Brazil) regue

Noun

reggae m (uncountable)

1. (music) reggae (a music genre from Jamaica)

Derived terms

• regueiro

Further reading

• “reggae”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “reggae”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Romanian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French reggae, from Jamaican Creole rege (“rags; a quarrel”).

Noun

reggae n (uncountable)

1. reggae

Declension

singular only	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	reggae	reggaeul
genitive-dative	reggae	reggaeului
vocative	reggaeule

Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English reggae.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈreɡe/ [ˈre.ɣ̞e]
• Rhymes: -eɡe

Noun

reggae m (plural reggaes)

1. reggae

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Further reading

• “reggae”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Swedish

Swedish Wikipedia has an article on:

reggae

Wikipedia ^sv

Noun

reggae c

1. (music) reggae

Declension

Declension of reggae

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	reggae	reggaes
	definite	reggaen	reggaens
plural	indefinite	—	—
	definite	—	—

References

• reggae in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• reggae in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)