chant

le chant (FR N-M) musical sounds emitted by the human voice, song, technique of the vocal art; sound(s) imitative of the voice; leading melodic voice of a piece of music; lyric or epic poetry. First appears in French in the 12th century, from Latin cantus. (Baudelaire, Brimont, Fombeure, Hugo, Louÿs, Mirmont, Parny, Richepin, Silvestre, Sully-Prudhomme, van Lerberghe, Verlaine)