Bossa nova is a style of Brazilian music. Bossa nova acquired a large following in the 1960s, initially consisting of young musicians and college students. Since its birth, the bossa nova movement contributed with its style and a number of songs to the standard jazz repertoire.

In Brazil, to do something with "bossa" is to do it with particular charm and natural flair, as in an innate ability. In 1932, Noel Rosa used the word in a samba, which went "O samba, a prontid?o e outras bossas / S?o nossas coisas, s?o coisas nossas" ("The samba, the readiness and other bossas / Are our things, are things from us"). As yet, the exact origin of the term "bossa nova" remains uncertain. What is certain is that the term "bossa" was used to refer to any new "trend" or "fashionable wave" within the artistic beach-culture of late 1950s Rio de Janeiro. The term finally became known and widely used to refer to a new music style, a fusion of samba and jazz, when the now famous creators of "bossa nova" referred to their new style of work as "a bossa nova," as in "the new thing." Brazilian author Ruy Castro, in his book Bossa Nova, claimed that "bossa" was already in use in the 1950s by musicians, as a word to characterize someone's knack for playing or singing idiosyncratically. He cites a claim that the term "bossa nova" might have first been used in publicity for a concert given in 1958 by the Grupo Universit?rio Hebraico do Brasil (University Hebrew Group of Brazil), consisting of Sylvinha Telles, Carlinhos Lyra, Nara Le?o, Luizinho E?a, Roberto Menescal, et al. They were likely using the term "bossa nova" then as a generic reference to what they were doing in music at the time, which had no particular name yet. However, the term took hold as the definition of their own specific artistic creation, which became known as "bossa nova," and is often simply known as "bossa" today.

Bossa nova is most commonly performed on the nylon-string classical guitar, played with the fingers rather than with a pick. Its purest form could be considered unaccompanied guitar with vocals, as exemplified by Jo?o Gilberto. Even in larger, jazz-like arrangements for groups, there is almost always a guitar that plays the underlying rhythm. Gilberto basically took one of the several rhythmic layers from a samba ensemble, specifically the tamborim, and applied it to the picking hand. Though not as prominent as the guitar, the piano is another important instrument of bossa nova; Jobim wrote for the piano and performed on it for most of his own recordings. The piano has also served as a stylistic bridge between bossa nova and jazz, enabling a great deal of cross-pollination between the two. In addition to the piano, the electronic organ is also prominently featured on many classic bossa nova tracks, such as "(So Nice) Summer Samba" by Walter Wanderly. Drums and other percussion are generally not considered essential bossa nova instruments. Nonetheless, there is a distinctive bossa nova drumming style like that of Helcio Milito and Milton Banana, characterized by continuous eighths on the high-hat (mimicking the samba Pandeiro) and tapping of the rim or "rim clicks" in a clave pattern. The bass drum usually plays on "1-&3-&1"...