shanty

¹

[ shan-tee ]

noun

, plural shan·ties.

1. a crudely built hut, cabin, or house.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or constituting a shanty or shanties:

   a shanty quarter outside the town walls.

2. of a low economic or social class, especially when living in a shanty:

   shanty people.

verb (used without object)

, shan·tied, shan·ty·ing.

1. to inhabit a shanty.

shanty

²

[ shan-tee ]

noun

, plural shan·ties.

1. a sailors' song, especially one sung in rhythm to work.

shanty

¹

/ ˈʃæntɪ; ˈʃæntɪ; ˈtʃæn- /

noun

1. a song originally sung by sailors, esp a rhythmic one forming an accompaniment to work

shanty

²

/ ˈʃæntɪ /

noun

1. a ramshackle hut; crude dwelling
2. a public house, esp an unlicensed one
3. formerly, in Canada
   1. a log bunkhouse at a lumber camp
   2. the camp itself

Other Words From

• shanty·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of shanty¹

1810–20; probably < Canadian French chantier lumber camp, hut; French: yard, depot, gantry, stand for barrels < Latin cant ( h ) ērius rafter, prop, literally, horse in poor condition, nag < Greek kanthḗlios pack ass

Origin of shanty²

First recorded 1855–60; alteration of French chanter “to sing”; chant

Word History and Origins

Origin of shanty¹

C19: from French chanter to sing; see chant

Origin of shanty²

C19: from Canadian French chantier cabin built in a lumber camp, from Old French gantier gantry

Example Sentences

Syeda X, a poor migrant woman living in shanty towns that skirt India’s capital Delhi, struggled through more than 50 jobs in 30 years.

From BBC

For years, a tiled shanty in a sun-drenched village in India's central Madhya Pradesh state has been home to Mr Bhallavi, his wife, and their four school-going children.

From BBC

The annual Art Shanty Projects festival on Lake Harriet in Minneapolis in January had to be cut short due to open water and unsafe ice.

From Seattle Times

Then again, there’s nothing quite like the Art Shanty Projects, in which intrepid Minnesota artists in insulated jumpsuits and ice cleats annually recreate traditional ice fishing huts, called shanties, in their own eccentric style on a frozen lake in Minneapolis.

From New York Times

But on Jan. 27, for Art Shanty’s opening, there was a miraculous 13 inches of solid ice on Harriet, and some 10,000 people showed up on ice skates, fat tire bicycles and sleds packed with bundled little ones to commune with zany interactive huts.

From New York Times

Related Words

• cabin
• cottage
• hut
• lean-to