chanteur

Chanteur is a French noun meaning a male singer. It designates a person who sings as a profession or as an art, across genres such as pop, rock, chanson, folk, or opera when used in a general sense. The feminine form is chanteuse, and the plural is chanteurs.

Etymology and usage notes: the word comes from chanter, to sing, with the agent suffix -eur, derived from Latin cantare through Old French. In contemporary usage, chanteur is common in biographical writing, journalism, and everyday speech to refer to male singers, while chanteuse is used for female singers. The term can apply to both historical figures and modern performers.

Nuance and contexts: some contexts distinguish interprète (performer or interpreter) or chanteur lyrique (opera or concert singing) to specify style or repertoire. Phrases such as chanteur de variété or chanteur de chanson are used to indicate pop or chanson-style singing, respectively. While gendered, the term is often employed irrespective of formal training, highlighting the act of singing or the public persona of the artist.

Notable examples: in the French-language tradition, male chanteurs include Charles Aznavour, Georges Brassens, Jacques Brel, and Léo Ferré, whose work spans chanson, interpretation, and singer-songwriter genres. In broader contexts, the word may appear in English-language writing as a loanword to denote a male French-speaking singer.

See also: chanson, chanteuse, interprète.