The story
- Old English · inherited fromsangestre“a female singer; songstress”
- Middle English · inherited fromsongster
- English todaysongster
From Middle English songster, sangester, sangstere, from Old English sangestre (“a female singer; songstress”), equivalent to song + -ster. Cognate with Scots sangstar (“singer; songster”). Compare also West Frisian sjongster (“singer; female singer; vocalist”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.