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chant

 [chant, chahnt]   Example Sentences Origin

chant

   [chant, chahnt]
noun
1.
a short, simple melody, especially one characterized by single notes to which an indefinite number of syllables are intoned, used in singing psalms, canticles, etc., in church services.
2.
a psalm, canticle, or the like, chanted or for chanting.
3.
the singing or intoning of all or portions of a liturgical service.
4.
any monotonous song.
5.
a song; singing: the chant of a bird.
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6.
a monotonous intonation of the voice in speaking.
7.
a phrase, slogan, or the like, repeated rhythmically and insistently, as by a crowd.
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verb (used with object)
8.
to sing to a chant, or in the manner of a chant, especially in a church service.
9.
to sing.
10.
to celebrate in song.
11.
to repeat (a phrase, slogan, etc.) rhythmically and insistently.

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Chant is one of our favorite verbs.
So is yaff. Does it mean:
to bark; yelp.
to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle.
LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
verb (used without object)
12.
to sing.
13.
to utter a chant.
Origin:
1350–1400; (v.) Middle English chanten < Middle French chanter < Latin cantāre, frequentative of canere to sing; (noun) < French chant < Latin cantus; see canto

Related forms
chant·a·ble, adjective
chant·ing·ly, adverb
half-chant·ed, adjective
un·chant·ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To chant
Example Sentences
  • The chant was a faint one, but not so much so as to go undetected.
  • Several hours later, jet lag proved no match for religious authority as a muezzin's predawn chant led the call to prayer.
  • Something the great unwashed might chant more about is the damage done by offshore finance.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
chant (tʃɑːnt)
 
—n
1.  a simple song or melody
2.  a short simple melody in which several words or syllables are assigned to one note, as in the recitation of psalms
3.  a psalm or canticle performed by using such a melody
4.  a rhythmic or repetitious slogan, usually spoken or sung, as by sports supporters, etc
5.  monotonous or singsong intonation in speech
 
—vb
6.  to sing or recite (a psalm, prayer, etc) as a chant
7.  to intone (a slogan) rhythmically or repetitiously
8.  to speak or say monotonously as if intoning a chant
 
[C14: from Old French chanter to sing, from Latin cantāre, frequentative of canere to sing]
 
'chanting
 
—n
 
—adj
 
'chantingly
 
—adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

chant
late 14c., from O.Fr. chanter, from L. cantare, freq. of canere "sing," from PIE base *kan- "to sing" (cf. Gk. eikanos "cock," O.E. hana "cock," both lit. "bird who sings for sunrise;" O.Ir. caniaid "sings," Welsh canu "sing"). The frequentative quality of the word was no longer felt in L., and by the
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time Fr. emerged the word had entirely displaced canere.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

chant

the Gregorian chant (q.v.) and, by extension, other similar religious chants. The word derives from the 13th-century Latin term cantus planus ("plain song"), referring to the unmeasured rhythm and monophony (single line of melody) of Gregorian chant, as distinguished from the measured rhythm of polyphonic (multipart) music, called cantus mensuratus, or cantus figuratus ("measured," or "figured," song). Its other main application is to ancient Christian music with the same unmeasured rhythm and monophony-in the West, Ambrosian, Gallican, and Mozarabic chants (qq.v.); in the East, Byzantine, Syrian, Coptic, Ethiopian, and Armenian chants (qq.v.). It may also refer to similar non-Christian religious music, such as Jewish and Hindu chants.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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