CHANTADA

chantada, a town of north-western spain, in the province of lugo, on the left bank of the rio de chantada, a small right-hand tributary of the river mino, and on the main road from orerse, 18 m. s. by w., to lugo, 28 m. n. by e. pop. (1900) 15,003. chantada is the chief town of the fertile region between the mino and the heights of el faro, which mark the western border of the province. despite the lack of railway communication, it has a thriving trade in grain, flax, hemp, and dairy produce. chantage (a fr. word from _chanter_, to sing, slang for a criminal making an avowal under examination), a demand for money backed by the threat of scandalous revelations, the french equivalent of "blackmail."