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Webster 1913 Edition

Chord

Chord

(kôrd)
,
Noun.
[L
chorda
a gut, a string made of a gut, Gr.
χορδή
. In the sense of a string or small rope, in general, it is written
cord
. See
Cord
.]
1.
The string of a musical instrument.
Milton.
2.
(Mus.)
A combination of tones simultaneously performed, producing more or less perfect harmony,
as, the common
chord
.
3.
(Geom.)
A right line uniting the extremities of the arc of a circle or curve.
4.
(Anat.)
A cord. See
Cord
,
Noun.
, 4.
5.
(Engin.)
The upper or lower part of a truss, usually horizontal, resisting compression or tension.
Waddell.
Accidental, Common, and Vocal
chords
.
See under
Accidental
,
Common
, and
Vocal
.
–
Chord of an arch
.
See Illust. of
Arch
.
–
Chord of curvature
,
a chord drawn from any point of a curve, in the circle of curvature for that point.
–
Scale of chords
.
See
Scale
.

Chord

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Chorded
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Chording
.]
To provide with musical chords or strings; to string; to tune.
When Jubal struck the
chorded
shell.
Dryden.
Even the solitary old pine tree
chords
his harp.
Beecher.

Chord

,
Verb.
I.
(Mus.)
To accord; to harmonize together;
as, this note
chords
with that
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Chord

CHORD

, n.
1.
The string of a musical instrument.
2.
In music, the union of two or more sounds uttered at the same time, forming an entire harmony; as a third, fifth and eighth, which are perfect chords, or consonancies. The fourth and sixth are imperfect chords.
3.
In geometry, a right line drawn or supposed to extend from one end of an arch of a circle to the other. Hence the chord of an arch is a right line joining the extremities of that arch.

CHORD

,
Verb.
T.
To string.

Definition 2024

chord

chord

English

Noun

chord ‎(plural chords)

  1. (music) A harmonic set of three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously.
    • 1956, Delano Ames, chapter 14, in Crime out of Mind:
      He struck the opening chords of the passage; but this time Irene's voice was silent. Victor stopped in the middle of an arpeggio.
  2. (geometry) A straight line between two points of a curve.
  3. (engineering) A horizontal member of a truss.
  4. (aeronautics) The distance between the leading and trailing edge of a wing, measured in the direction of the normal airflow.
  5. (computing) A keyboard shortcut that involves two or more distinct keypresses, such as Ctrl+M followed by P.
    • 2005, James Avery, Visual Studio hacks (page 99)
      Ctrl-K is the default first key for chords, but you can create chords using any keys that you want.
  6. The string of a musical instrument.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Milton to this entry?)
  7. (anatomy) A cord.
  8. (graph theory) An edge that is not part of a cycle but connects two vertices of the cycle.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Verb

chord ‎(third-person singular simple present chords, present participle chording, simple past and past participle chorded)

  1. (transitive) To write chords for.
    • 2003, Dan Levenson, Clawhammer Banjo from Scratch
      This chording technique works well for learning any tune, but this is the only tune of the set that I will write out completely as a chorded version.
  2. (music) To accord; to harmonize together.
    This note chords with that one.
  3. (transitive) To provide with musical chords or strings; to string; to tune.
    • Dryden
      When Jubal struck the chorded shell.
    • Beecher
      Even the solitary old pine tree chords his harp.

Translations

Etymology

Variant of cord, with spelling alteration due to Latin chorda ‎(“cord”), ultimately from Ancient Greek (Doric) χορδά ‎(khordá), (Ionic) χορδή ‎(khordḗ, “string of gut, the string of a lyre”)

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /kɔː(ɹ)d/
  • (US) IPA(key): /kɔɹd/
  • Homophone: cord

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