noun, plural cha·lets [sha-leyz, shal-eyz; French shah-le] /ʃæˈleɪz, ˈʃæl eɪz; French ʃɑˈlɛ/.
- a herdsman’s hut in the Swiss Alps.
- a kind of farmhouse, low and with wide eaves, common in Alpine regions.
- any cottage, house, ski lodge, etc., built in this style.
noun
- a type of wooden house of Swiss origin, typically low, with wide projecting eaves
- a similar house used esp as a ski lodge, garden house, etc
1782, from Swiss-French chalet “herdsman’s hut, Alpine cottage,” probably a diminutive of Old French chasel “farmhouse, house, abode, hut,” perhaps from Vulgar Latin *casalis “belonging to a house,” from Latin casa “house;” or from Old Provençal cala “small shelter for ships,” from a pre-Latin language [Barnhart].