chant

Etymology

From Middle English chaunten, from Old French chanter, from Latin cantāre (“sing”). Doublet of cant.

verb

1. To sing, especially without instruments, and as applied to monophonic and pre-modern music.
2. To sing or intone sacred text.
3. To utter or repeat in a strongly rhythmical manner, especially as a group.
   The football fans chanted insults at the referee.
   On their way to Parliament Square, the demonstrators chanted slogans, sang the Hungarian national anthem, and waved banners and Hungarian flags (minus the hated Communist emblem). 2009, Leo J. Daugherty III, The Marine Corps and the State Department, page 116
4. (transitive, archaic) To sell horses fraudulently, exaggerating their merits.

noun

1. Type of singing done generally without instruments and harmony.
2. (music) A short and simple melody, divided into two parts by double bars, to which unmetrical psalms, etc., are sung or recited. It is the most ancient form of choral music.
3. Twang; manner of speaking; a canting tone.
4. A repetitive song, typically an incantation or part of a ritual.