chanter

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ʃɑ̃.te/^[1]

Forms

chanter^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin cantō (“to sing”), a frequentative of canō (“to sing; to prophesy”) that very early competed with the simple verb and took its place.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} “Canere” was a word of augury and magic, whose formulas were rhythmic chants; used of seers and poets, it came to mean “to celebrate in song” and “to foretell”.^[3]

Cognate with Romanian cânta, Italian cantare, Occitan cantar, Catalan cantar, Spanish cantar and Portuguese cantar.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first records are in the Life of Saint Leger (10th century), liturgical: cantomps de “let us celebrate in song” and missae cantat “he sings Mass”.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The ordinary sense “to sing” is used intransitively from about 1050, of birds from the first half of the 12th century and of instruments from the mid-13th century.^[2][3] It meant “to tell, relate” in Chrétien de Troyes (1165–70), chanter victoire “to crow over a victory” from 1796, and, from 1690 to speak with a sing-song intonation.^[2][3]

Faire chanter quelqu'un meant to get a confession out of someone under torture (1640), and in 1808 to blackmail; from it came chantage “blackmail” (Vidocq, 1836).^[2][3][4] Figuratively it means “to suit, please” (1847), as in familiar si ça vous chante “if you feel like it”.^[2][3][7] A rival explanation of the blackmail sense from the old verb canter “to lean” is not accepted by the TLFi.^[2]

Timeline

• 10th century – Cantomps, Life of Saint Leger.^[2]
• c. 1050 – Intransitive chanter, Life of Saint Alexis.^[2]
• First half of the 12th century – Of birds.^[2]
• 1165–70 – “To tell”, Chrétien de Troyes.^[2]
• 1640 – Faire chanter “to make (someone) confess”.^[2]
• 1808 – Faire chanter “to blackmail”.^[2][4]
• 1847 – “To suit, please”, Leconte de Lisle.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To sing: chanter juste, faux, chanter une chanson.^[7][1]
2. (of birds) To sing, (of a cock) to crow, (of an instrument) to sound melodiously.^[1][8]
3. To celebrate in song or verse: chanter la gloire de quelqu'un.^[2][3]
4. (familiar) To tell, say: qu'est-ce que tu nous chantes là?.^[2][9]
5. (familiar) Si ça vous chante: if you feel like it.^[7]
6. Faire chanter quelqu'un: to blackmail someone.^[2][8]
7. C'est comme si je chantais: I might as well be talking to the wall.^[8][9]

Word family

• chantable
• chantage
• chanteur
• chantonner
• déchanter
• chantepleure
• rechanter

Related words

• cantate
• chanson
• chant
• chantre
• déchant
• enchantement
• enchanter
• enchanteur
• enchanteresse
• incantation
• Latin cantō

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 220b
7. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette