Meanings
alternative Can.
- not comparablechurch architectureOf the side of the chancel, apse, altar or choir on which the cantor's (later precentor's) stall is placed (the left hand side to a person facing the altar);
the cantoris side of a choir; a cantoris stall
1 more example
one accompanyist, let us suppose him seated on the Cantoris side, facing the Decani Organ[…]
1858, William St. George Patterson, Chants, services, anthems
alternative Can.
- entertainmentThe lower of two choral voice parts sung when a part splits into two; traditionally sung by members of the choir on the cantoris side.
All the extant voices participate fully in the decani-cantoris split at that point, so one is tempted to assume that the tenors split into decani and cantoris parts as well.
1988, Gordon Paine, Howard Swan, Five Centuries of Choral Music: Essays in Honor of Howard Swan, page 105 - entertainmentThat half of the choir singing cantoris parts, collectively.
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Latincantōris“of the cantor”
- Englishcantoris
Borrowed from Latin cantōris (“of the cantor”).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
cantoris. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cantoris
“cantoris.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cantoris. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cantoris,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cantoris.
Source: cantoris on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.