Etymologically
Log in

cantor

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 16:03. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈkan.tɔr][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈkan.tor][1]

Forms

cantor m (genitive cantōris, feminine cantrīx); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from canō “to sing” with the suffix -tor.[2][1][3] Isidore says the ⟨cantor⟩ is named for modulating his voice in song.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are from Cicero, of a person who sings the praises of someone, and Horace, of a singer.[2] Köbler dates Horace 65–8 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant a singer, usually accompanying himself on an instrument, as in Horace, and in Cicero someone who sings another's praises.[2] Etymonline adds the senses of poet and actor.[3]

In Christian Latin it meant a church singer, a chorister, and the precentor who led the choir.[6] British Medieval Latin used it for a singer, a minstrel.[7] It survives in Italian cantore and French chantre, and gave English cantor in the 1530s, a church song-leader.[1][3]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a praiser.[2][5]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace uses it of a singer.[2][5]
  • 1530s – English cantor is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A singer.[2]
  2. One who sings someone's praises.[2]
  3. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A church singer; a precentor, cantor.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
  5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  7. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press