chalet

noun

cha·​let sha-ˈlā 

ˈsha-(ˌ)lā

1

: a remote herdsman's hut in the Alps

2

a

: a Swiss dwelling with unconcealed structural members and a wide overhang at the front and sides

b

: a cottage or house in chalet style

Illustration of chalet

• chalet 2a

Synonyms

• bach [New Zealand]
• cabin
• camp
• cottage
• lodge

Examples of chalet in a Sentence

We stayed overnight at a ski chalet.

a mountain chalet for weekend getaways

Recent Examples on the Web

Petra Guest House Hotel This boutique property, which is tucked away into the cliffside near Petra's entrance, has 41 guest rooms and 31 chalets — all are air-conditioned and overlook the surrounding mountains. —Alison Fox, Travel + Leisure, 21 Dec. 2024

Families have a choice between rooms, suites or private chalets for up to six people. —Katharina Kotrba, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024

Low-key: Alpine vibes at Stable on H Street, which dishes up fondue and raclette in Swiss chalets and outside (fondue starting at $27). —Anna Spiegel, Axios, 16 Dec. 2024

In Courmayeur — a destination beloved by the Milanese in search of winter getaways at the feet of the Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe — MSGM unveiled a similar partnership with the renowned Auberge de La Maison chalet. —Martino Carrera, WWD, 13 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, borrowed from Franco-Provençal of Switzerland (and adjacent Alpine regions of France and Italy) tsalẹ̀, tchalè "cabin in upland summer pastures used as a residence and for processing milk into butter and cheese, pasture in the vicinity of such a structure," from tsal-, tchal-, stem probably meaning "shelter" seen as an underived noun in Old Occitan cala "cove, inlet" (also in Spanish & Catalan, and as a loanword from Spanish in Italian & Portuguese, probably a borrowing from a western Mediterranean substratal language) + -ẹ̀, -è -et entry 1

Note: A display of the variants found in Franco-Provençal of Switzerland can be seen in Glossaire des patois de la Suisse romande (tome 3, p. 270). The word occurs as chaletus in Latin documents from present-day Vaud canton beginning in the fourteenth century. As chalet the word is first attested in metropolitan French in 1723; it received wide circulation through its use in Jean-Jacques Rousseau's novel Julie ou la Nouvelle Héloïse (1761).

First Known Use

1782, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

chalet

noun

cha·​let sha-ˈlā 

ˈshal-ˌā

1

: a herdsman's hut in the Alps away from a town or village

2

a

: a Swiss dwelling with a roof that sticks far out past the walls

b

: a cottage built to look like a chalet