Meaning & use
calabash voice
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Meanings
nouncountablefigurative
A rough, hollow-sounding singing or speaking voice, often compared to the dry rattle of a dried gourd.
Grammar: Countable: you can say a calabash voice or calabash voices.
Patterns
- have a calabash voice
- sing in a calabash voice
- a calabash voice on a recording
The old blues singer had a calabash voice that seemed to come from deep in a dry well.
He answered the phone in a calabash voice, hoarse from shouting all afternoon.
Critics praised her calabash voice for its warm, grainy texture.
nouncountablemusic
A style of singing or speech linked to calabash gourd instruments, especially in West African and Caribbean music.
Grammar: Often used with the definite article when referring to a particular performer's style: the calabash voice.
Patterns
- the calabash voice of a region
- a calabash voice tradition
- sing with a calabash voice
The ensemble blends drumming with a calabash voice that echoes the gourd's hollow tone.
Scholars have written about the calabash voice in Caribbean folk songs.
Word forms
| plural | calabash voices |
|---|
Common combinations
- a deep calabash voice
- A deep calabash voice filled the small club.
- a calabash voice singing
- We heard a calabash voice singing behind the drums.
- in a calabash voice
- She answered in a calabash voice, low and cracked.
- the calabash voice tradition
- The calabash voice tradition survives in rural festivals.
Synonyms and how they differ
- gravelly voice
- Describes a rough, harsh voice; calabash voice suggests a drier, more hollow, gourd-like quality.
- husky voice
- Husky is softer and often used of attractive low voices; calabash voice is more rustic and hollow.
- hoarse voice
- Hoarse usually means temporarily rough from a cold or shouting, while calabash voice can be a permanent style.
Opposites
Word family
- calabash noun
- The dried gourd shell used as a bowl, rattle, or instrument.
Commonly confused: calabash voice or calabash?
calabash voice vs calabash
Calabash alone is the gourd or its shell; calabash voice is a figurative phrase for a hollow, rough voice.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'calabash voice' most naturally?
Choose one answer.
'Calabash voice' describes a rough, hollow singing or speaking voice, so it fits the singing sentence. The other options treat it as a physical gourd or object, which is wrong.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “calabash voice”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.