bossa nova

Where does the word "bossa nova" come from? It comes from Portuguese bossa, passing through Portuguese before entering English (1960s).

Bossa nova’s story begins in Portuguese: bossa meant “a flair, trend.” Brazilian slang meaning "a trend" or "flair" (literally 'bump', from French bosse). Within Portuguese, it grew into bossa nova by 1950s-1960s. Literally "new trend", a mellow fusion of samba and jazz; João Gilberto's 1958 recording of Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes's 'Chega de Saudade' launched the style, and the 1959 lyrics of 'Desafinado' name it. It reached English by 1960s as bossa nova. Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd's album Jazz Samba and a Carnegie Hall concert in November 1962 started a US craze; João Gilberto and Tom Jobim's 'The Girl from Ipanema' of 1964 made it a global hit. Today, bossa nova means a mellow, jazz-influenced style of Brazilian popular music.

1. Stage 1 · Portuguese · 1950s bossa "a flair, trend", Brazilian slang meaning "a trend" or "flair" (literally 'bump', from French bosse).
2. Stage 2 · Portuguese · 1950s-1960s bossa nova "a new musical trend", literally "new trend", a mellow fusion of samba and jazz; João Gilberto's 1958 recording of Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes's 'Chega de Saudade' launched the style, and the 1959 lyrics of 'Desafinado' name it.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1960s bossa nova "a mellow Brazilian music genre blending samba and jazz", Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd's album Jazz Samba and a Carnegie Hall concert in November 1962 started a US craze; João Gilberto and Tom Jobim's 'The Girl from Ipanema' of 1964 made it a global hit.