cantor

See also: Cantor

English

A Cantor singing

Alternative forms

• cantour (obsolete)

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cantor, agent noun from perfect passive participle cantus, from verb canere (“to sing”) + agent suffix -or. Doublet of chanter.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkæntɔː(ɹ)/, /ˈkæntə(ɹ)/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æntə(ɹ)

Noun

cantor (plural cantors)

1. singer, especially someone who takes a special role of singing or song leading at a ceremony

   The cantor's place in church is on the right of the choir.

2. A prayer leader in a Jewish service; a hazzan

Related terms

• cantorate
• cantrix
• chant

Translations

singer

• Czech: kantor (cs) m, kantorka f
• Danish: kantor c
• Finnish: kanttori (fi), esilaulaja
• German: Kantor (de) m, Kantorin (de) f, Vorsänger m, Vorsängerin f
• Hebrew: חזן \ חַזָּן (he) m (khazán)
• Hungarian: kántor (hu)
• Italian: cantore (it) m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: kantor m

  Nynorsk: kantor m

• Polish: kantor (pl) m, chazan (pl) m (Jewish)
• Swedish: kantor (sv) c
• Yiddish: חזן m (khazan) (Jewish)

See also

• song leader

Anagrams

• Carnot, Carton, Catron, Contra, TRACON, carton, contra, contra-, corant, craton, tracon

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin cantor (“male singer”), cantōrem.

Noun

cantor m (plural cantores)

1. singer (person who sings)

Synonyms

• cantante

Related terms

• cantar

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cantōrem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [kənˈto]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [kanˈtoɾ]

Noun

cantor m (plural cantors, feminine cantora)

1. singer (person who sings as a job)

   Hypernym: cantaire

   Hypernym: cantador

Related terms

• cantar

Further reading

• “cantor” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “cantor”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “cantor” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “cantor” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈkan.tor/, [ˈkän̪t̪ɔr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈkan.tor/, [ˈkän̪t̪or]

Etymology 1

From canō (“I sing”) +‎ -tor.

Noun

cantor m (genitive cantōris, feminine cantrīx); third declension

1. singer (male)

   Synonym: cantātor

   • Vulgata Latina Reg. II.19.35:

     vel audire possum ultra vocem cantorum atque cantricum?

     Can I still hear the voices of male and female singers?

2. player (male)

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	cantor	cantōrēs
Genitive	cantōris	cantōrum
Dative	cantōrī	cantōribus
Accusative	cantōrem	cantōrēs
Ablative	cantōre	cantōribus
Vocative	cantor	cantōrēs

Coordinate terms

• cantrīx

Related terms

• canor
• canticum
• cantiō
• cantus
• cantāmen
• cantō
• canō
• canōrus

 

Descendants

• Asturian: cantor
• Catalan: cantor
• English: cantor
• French: chantre, chanteur
• Friulian: cjantôr
• Galician: cantor
• Italian: cantore
• Norman: chanteux
• Portuguese: cantor
• Romanian: cantor
• Sardinian: cantore, cantori
• Spanish: cantor
• Swedish: kantor
• Venetian: cantor
• Walloons: tchanteu

Etymology 2

Inflected form of cantō (“I sing”).

Verb

cantor

1. first-person singular present passive indicative of cantō

References

• “cantor”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “cantor”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• cantor in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin cantōrem (“male singer”).

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /kɐ̃ˈtoʁ/ [kɐ̃ˈtoh]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /kɐ̃ˈtoʁ/ [kɐ̃ˈtoh]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /kɐ̃ˈtoɾ/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /kɐ̃ˈtoʁ/ [kɐ̃ˈtoχ]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /kɐ̃ˈtoɻ/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /kɐ̃ˈtoɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /kɐ̃ˈtoɾ/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /kɐ̃ˈto.ɾi/

• Hyphenation: can‧tor

Noun

cantor m (plural cantores, feminine cantora, feminine plural cantoras)

1. singer (person who sings)

Derived terms

• cantorzinho (diminutive)
• cantautor

Related terms

• cantar
• cântico
• canto
• cantoria
• encantar

 

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cantor.

Noun

cantor m (plural cantori)

1. cantor

Declension

Declension of cantor

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) cantor	cantorul	(niște) cantori	cantorii
genitive/dative	(unui) cantor	cantorului	(unor) cantori	cantorilor
vocative	cantorule		cantorilor

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Latin cantōrem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kanˈtoɾ/ [kãn̪ˈt̪oɾ]
• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Syllabification: can‧tor

Adjective

cantor (feminine cantora, masculine plural cantores, feminine plural cantoras)

1. singing

Derived terms

• ave cantora
• gorrión cantor
• pájaro cantor

 

Noun

cantor m (plural cantores, feminine cantora, feminine plural cantoras)

1. singer

Related terms

• cantar
• canto

 

Further reading

• “cantor”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

Anagrams

• contar
• contra
• cortan
• tranco

 

Venetian

Etymology

From Latin cantor, cantōrem.

Noun

cantor m (plural cantori) or cantor m (plural canturi)

1. singer, chorister

Welsh

Etymology

From Middle Welsh kantor, from Latin cantor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkantɔr/

Noun

cantor f (plural cantorion or cantoriaid, feminine cantores)

1. singer

   Synonym: canwr

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
cantor	gantor	nghantor	chantor
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “cantor”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies