Chaunter

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An artist who vocalizes lyrical or rhythmic expressions to engage listeners
2. Someone who performs songs or rhythmic vocalizations, often in a repetitive manner
3. An individual who utters chants or sings, typically in a melodious or rhythmic style

Etymology: "Chaunter" is a variant spelling of "chanter," and its history runs through a single older form: "chaunt," a spelling of "chant." The noun was built by adding the agent suffix "-er" to that verb, so it names a person who chants, singing or intoning in a steady, rhythmic way. The "au" spelling reflects an older English and French habit of writing the vowel in "chant" that way, which "chaunt" preserved long after the spelling standardised elsewhere. Because the word is a simple formation from "chaunt" plus "-er," its meaning follows directly from that verb. The chanting it describes is rhythmic, repetitive vocalisation, which is why the same root also gives the everyday word "chant" for a sung phrase repeated on a few notes.

Synonyms: singer, chanter, vocalist, performer, melodist

Antonyms: non-singer, listener