The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #135431   Message #3091416
Posted By: Q (Frank Staplin)
08-Feb-11 - 06:47 PM
Thread Name: Earliest Commercial Shanty Recordings
Subject: RE: Earliest Commercial Chantey Recording
SHANTY needs the modification because its primary meaning is a small, crude dwelling place. In print, 1820. See Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.
(Also see shanty town, a slum settlement (Wikipedia)).

Webster's dictionary has the separate entry, "var of CHANTEY". Also CHANTY.
I could add that the 'shanty' variant developed largely out of ignorance of the root of the word.