Chansonnier

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A creator or performer of songs, often associated with French musical traditions, who engages in the art of lyrical storytelling through melody
2. An individual dedicated to the craft of composing or singing songs, particularly those rich in cultural narrative or emotion
3. A person who writes or performs songs in the traditional French style, often combining poetry with music

Etymology: The French word "chansonnier" comes from "chanson", meaning "song", with the suffix "-ier", which in French forms words for people associated with a thing. A chansonnier is therefore a person who makes or performs songs, and in French the term has long been used especially for writers of satirical or topical songs, often performed in cabarets. English borrowed the word directly from French, keeping its spelling and sense, so it carries the same association with light, pointed songwriting that it has in its original language. The word "chanson" itself descends from Latin "cantio", meaning "song", the same root that gives English "chant" and "cantata". Because French and English share so many words of Latin origin, the two languages have kept the family resemblance here, even though "chansonnier" reached English as a loan rather than through the ordinary inheritance that brought older words into the language.