Etymograph

English

chantry

Chantry comes from Old French chanter ‘to sing’, from Latin canto ‘to enchant, or call forth by charms, chant’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂n- ‘to sing’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*keh₂n-1‘to sing’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kh₂n-é-ti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kanō1‘to sing’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanō2‘sing’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanto3as cantāre‘to enchant, or call forth by charms, chant’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400chanter4‘to sing’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400chanterie4
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500chaunterie4
  9. Englishtodaychantry4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin cano
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin canto
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Old French chanter
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English chantry

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*keh₂n-Wiktionary, Latin cano‘to sing’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kh₂n-é-tiWiktionary, Latin canoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kanōWiktionary, Latin cano‘to sing’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanōWiktionary, Latin canto‘sing’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcantoWiktionary, Old French chanteras cantāre‘to enchant, or call forth by charms, chant’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400chanterWiktionary, English chantry‘to sing’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400chanterieWiktionary, English chantry
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500chaunterieWiktionary, English chantry
  9. EnglishtodaychantryWiktionary, English chantry

Linked words

through Latin canō ‘sing’

accent, incentive, cantor, bazooka, enchantment, incantation, recant, canticle, chanson, enchanter, 44 more

through Latin canto ‘to enchant, or call forth by charms, chant’

cant, enchant, 11 more

through Old French chanter ‘to sing’

shanty, 4 more

Today it means

noun An endowment for the maintenance of a priest to sing a daily mass for the souls of specified people.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “chantry”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin cano, Latin canto, Old French chanter. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *keh₂n- / chantry

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