Cool
Cool is a complex aesthetic of motion and interval, of tension and tranquility, of juxtaposition and coexistence, that has its roots in various West African cultures. Over time, it has been transformed by African-Americans and appropriated by American and Western popular culture, generally.
The word itself has acquired a wide range of related meanings, among them a state of wellness, calm or general well-being; something "hip," meaning current and desirable; or, any intellectual, literary or musical expression of understated beauty, such as cool jazz.
Cool can also be seen as making something out of nothing. As people or cultural groups are oppressed, the way that they make it by often becomes integrated with the meaning of cool.
References
Lewis MacAdams, Birth of the Cool. Beat, Bebop and the American Avant-Garde, Free Press, 2001. The title of the book comes from Miles Davis's 1949-1950 jazz recording sessions. This is not intended as a scholarly work, and is reported to have many (relatively minor) inaccuracies.
Cool can also be:
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