chanteuse

noun

chan·​teuse shan-ˈtüz  shäⁿ-ˈtərz 

-ˈtəz

plural chanteuses shan-ˈtüz 

-ˈtü-zəz,

-ˈtərz,

-ˈtəz,

-ˈtər-zəz,

-ˈtə-zəz

: songstress

especially : a woman who is a concert or nightclub singer

Examples of chanteuse in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The room should feel creaky, sticky with spilled vodka stingers; the walls should thrum with the ghosts of chanteuses past. —The New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2024

The chanteuse sat down with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang for a new episode of the duo’s Las Culturistas podcast, where Carey revealed how much her sixth studio album, Butterfly, meant to her. —Rania Aniftos, Billboard, 16 Oct. 2024

The film is set during the last days of the chanteuse’s life in 1977. —Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 26 Sep. 2024

The former jock who loves art and music combined with the song writing chanteuse are already quite a formidable combination. —Eric Fuller, Forbes, 5 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, from chanter "to sing" (going back to Old French) + -euse, feminine agent suffix, from feminine of -eux, adjective suffix, going back to Old French -eus, earlier -os, -ous, going back to Latin -ōsus -ose entry 1 — more at chant entry 1

Note: The feminine adjectival suffix -euse developed into an agent suffix in later Middle French, when, in line with the general loss of final consonants, the agent suffix -eur lost its consonant and became completely homonymous with the masculine adjectival suffix -eux; the two suffixes being identified, -euse came into use as a feminine complement to -eur. The restoration of final r in the suffix -eur has once again separated the suffixes.

First Known Use

1823, in the meaning defined above