shanty
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Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
shanty¹
- /ˈʃænti/
Rhymes with -ænti
Where it comes from
From Canadian French chantier (“lumberjack's headquarters”). An alternative theory that the word derives from Irish seantí (meaning "old house") is not considered likely by lexicologists.
* (unlicensed pub): New Zealand from 1848.
noun shanties
- A roughly-built hut or cabin. A chap named Eleazir Kendrick and I had chummed in together the summer afore and built a fish-weir and shanty at Setuckit Point, down Orham way. For a spell we done pretty well.
- A rudimentary or improvised dwelling, especially one not legally owned. Shanties along canal banks and road reserves have emerged since independence in 1948 onwards, and consist of unauthorized and improvised shelter without legal rights of occupancy of the land and structures.
-
An unlicensed pub.
The shanty-keeper is not, as a rule, a bachelor.
Similar: speakeasy
adjective
- Living in shanties; poor, ill-mannered and violent. That neighborhood is full of shanty Irishmen.
verb shanties · shantying · shantied
- To inhabit a shanty. we came down the Alleghany in two canoes , and shantied on the Ohio
shanty²
- /ˈʃænti/
Rhymes with -ænti
Where it comes from
From French chantez, imperative of chanter (“to sing”).
noun shanties · shantey · chanty · chantey
-
A rhythmic work song, traditionally sung by sailors or stevedores, functioning to set the pace for hauling, turning a capstan, loading, or other such activities.
A Scot called Macmillan, a man holding a master's square-rig ticket, gave me a portion of a shanty related in tune to the foregoing, and also to the British Rolling Home.
Similar: sea shanty
shanty³
- /ˈʃænti/
Rhymes with -ænti
adjective more shanty · most shanty
- Jaunty; showy.
Translations
Every language
noun An old run-down house or shack
| Español | chabola |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 棚子 péngzi |
| Français | cabane |
| Italiano | catapecchia, capanna, baracca, tugurio |
| Ελληνικά | καλύβα kalýva, παράγκα parágka |
| Русский | хиба́ра xibára |
noun a sailor's work song
| Español | saloma |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 船夫號子 /船夫号子 chuánfūhàozi |
| Deutsch | Shanty |
| Italiano | cantilena, celeuma, canto dei marinai |
| Ελληνικά | ναυτικό τραγούδι naftikó tragoúdi |
Talk about this word "shanty." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/shanty. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. shanty. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/shanty "shanty." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/shanty.Cite this
@misc{shanty_2026,
title = {shanty},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/shanty},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
