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

Just before that annual comeback begins, another project by the chanteuse finds its way back, as fans are still enjoying the set years after it was first released. —Hugh McIntyre, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024

Mariah Carey has 19 songs that have reached No. 1 — the most of any solo artist — and she's sold more records than God, who's big pretty much everywhere, yet the Recording Academy's appreciation has been rather elusive for the chanteuse. —Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 17 Oct. 2024

In a sketch mocking Céline Dion’s recent, inexplicable promo for Sunday Night Football, the chameleonic chanteuse absolutely nails Dion’s French Canadian accent, inflections, vocal tics, and confidence. —Joe Berkowitz, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2024

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

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