A small or modest house or cottage, often used as a vacation dwelling in mountainous regions like the Alps.
From French chalet, which comes from the Swiss French dialect, possibly derived from Old French chalan meaning 'shelter' or related to the idea of a shepherd's hut in Alpine regions. The word traveled through European languages and refers to simple mountain dwellings.
Chalets became fashionable vacation homes during the Romantic era when wealthy Europeans fell in love with Alpine scenery, and now the word describes a whole aesthetic of cozy mountain living.
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