shan ‧ ty /ˈʃænti/ BrE AmE noun ( plural shanties ) [countable]
[ Sense 1: Date: 1800-1900 ; Language: Canadian French ; Origin: chantier , from French , 'wooden support' , from Latin cantherius 'trellis' ]
[ Sense 2: Date: 1800-1900 ; Origin: chantey ]
1 . a small, roughly built hut made from thin sheets of wood, ↑ tin , plastic etc that very poor people live in:
Workers were living in tents and shanties.
2 . ( also sea shanty ) a song sung by sailors in the past, as they did their work