Chanting

How to spell chanting

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce chanting

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does chanting mean?

1. verbRepeatedly singing or shouting words or sounds in a rhythmic, often monotonous way.
2. nounThe act or sound of repeated rhythmic singing or shouting.

Chanting in a sentence

• verb

  The supporters were chanting the captain's name throughout the match.

• noun

  The steady chanting from the stadium could be heard streets away.

• verb

  The monks were chanting in the chapel long before dawn.

• noun

  Soft chanting accompanied the meditation session each evening.

Where does chanting come from?

Language of origin: French

The base verb 'chant' comes from the Old French 'chanter', meaning 'to sing', which descends directly from the Latin 'cantare', the frequentative of 'canere', 'to sing'. Latin 'cantare' carried the sense of singing repeatedly or habitually, which fits perfectly with the rhythmic, repeated nature of chanting. English borrowed 'chant' in the late 1300s, originally in religious contexts for the singing of psalms and liturgy, and only later extended it to crowds repeating slogans. The familiar present participle 'chanting' simply adds the native English '-ing' ending. The same Latin 'canere' root survives in relatives such as 'cantata', 'incantation', and even 'accent', so the link to song and the soft 'ch' spelling of the French ancestor explain why the word begins with 'ch' rather than a hard 'c'.

How the word is built

• chant (sing, from Latin cantare)
• -ing (present participle / gerund suffix)