Plural of chanty; plural of chantey, which are sailor songs sung in rhythm while working aboard ships.
From French 'chanter' (to sing), chanties were work songs developed by sailors to coordinate their labor on ships. The spelling 'chanty' and 'chantey' both derive from this French root and became standard English nautical terminology.
Sailors literally sang their jobs—these rhythmic work songs helped coordinate teams pulling ropes and raising sails, and the songs became so important that they survived as a distinct English word centuries after sailing ships became obsolete!
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