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

In the weeks before Christmas Parliament Street and St. Sampson’s Square are transformed by alpine chalets selling mostly local crafts — just be sure to book accommodation well in advance because December is exceptionally busy. —Jessica MacDonald, Travel + Leisure, 20 Jan. 2025

Taking cues from the existing cedar wood cladding on the walls and ceilings, Miller leaned hard into the ski chalet vibe while adapting the house to the family’s needs. —Jennifer Fernandez, Architectural Digest, 13 Dec. 2024

Food and Drink Aldi introduces the charcuterie chalet Dec 3, 2024 Go deeper (<1 min. read) Get a free daily digest of the most important news in your backyard with Axios Chicago. —Carrie Shepherd, Axios, 11 Dec. 2024

The chalet will be open from 3-8 p.m. CT both days. —Gabe Hauari, USA TODAY, 4 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