XALET spelling not accepted by CHALET or CHALÉ word of French origin to designate spacious houses with large outdoor garden, which is single-family of at least three bedrooms, usually in secluded places. in fact the first time the word chalet was used was to designate the houses of the Swiss Alps. In Chile, however, it is used for one-story houses, which is not the case in other countries. The plural is chalets or chalets.