chord

¹

[ kawrd ]

noun

1. a feeling or emotion:

   His story struck a chord of pity in the listeners.

2. Geometry. the line segment between two points on a given curve.
3. Engineering, Building Trades. a principal member of a truss extending from end to end, usually one of a pair of such members, more or less parallel and connected by a web composed of various compression and tension members.
4. Aeronautics. a straight line joining the trailing and leading edges of an airfoil section.
5. Anatomy. cord ( def 6 ).

chord

²

[ kawrd ]

noun

1. a combination of usually three or more musical tones sounded simultaneously.

verb (used with object)

1. to establish or play a chord or chords for (a particular harmony or song); harmonize or voice:

   How would you chord that in B flat?

chord

¹

/ kɔːd /

noun

1. maths
   1. a straight line connecting two points on a curve or curved surface
   2. the line segment lying between two points of intersection of a straight line and a curve or curved surface
2. engineering one of the principal members of a truss, esp one that lies along the top or the bottom
3. See cord
   anatomy a variant spelling of cord
4. an emotional response, esp one of sympathy

   the story struck the right chord

5. an imaginary straight line joining the leading edge and the trailing edge of an aerofoil
6. archaic.
   the string of a musical instrument

chord

²

/ kɔːd /

noun

1. See discord, concord
   the simultaneous sounding of a group of musical notes, usually three or more in number See concord discord

verb

1. tr to provide (a melodic line) with chords

chord

/ kôrd /

1. A line segment that joins two points on a curve.
2. A straight line connecting the leading and trailing edges of an airfoil.

chord

1. In music, the sound of three or more notes played at the same time. The history of Western music is marked by an increase in complexity of the chords composers use.

Derived Forms

• ˈchorded, adjective
• ˈchordal, adjective

Other Words From

• chorded adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of chord¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin chorda < Greek chordḗ gut, string; replacing cord in senses given

Origin of chord²

1350–1400; earlier cord, Middle English, short for accord; ch- from chord ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of chord¹

C16: from Latin chorda, from Greek khordē gut, string; see cord

Origin of chord²

C15: short for accord ; spelling influenced by chord ¹

Idioms and Phrases

see strike a chord .

Example Sentences

Music director Felton Offard contributes sharp guitar riffs and bluesy harmonica chords as a one-man backup band, separated from Butler by a plexiglass partition.

From Washington Post

In the end most teams used smaller models that produced specific parts of a song, like the chords or melodies, and then stitched these together by hand.

From MIT Technology Review

Cable management grommets keep your desktop free of tangled chords, and waterproof and scratch resistant surfaces can handle any amount of wear.

From Popular-Science

What’s more, Nordstrom’s reputation for good customer service struck a chord with Smith, whose company is renowned for its generous returns policy.

From Fortune

In this year’s combustible political atmosphere, its uncontroversial purpose has struck a chord.

From Fortune

And the chord structure, for those of you who play an instrument, is unexpected and worth checking out.

From The Daily Beast

The guitar is tuned to E, and an Eminor chord on a guitar just rings and rings forever.

From The Daily Beast

It does strike a chord when you see just how victimizing some of the media reports can be of Africa.

From The Daily Beast

But it is based on the chord structure of what I played before it, except that it was based on a diminished scale.

From The Daily Beast

There were no longer any chord changes, and it was no longer a ballad.

From The Daily Beast

In this position, the line of cavalry formed the chord of the arc described by the river, and occupied by us.

From Project Gutenberg

There is quite a little knack in letting the hand fall so, but when you have once got it, the chord sounds much richer and fuller.

From Project Gutenberg

When she struck the chord of G minor, it was the right preparation, and brought you immediately into the mood for what followed.

From Project Gutenberg

It produced comparatively little foundation tone and a powerful chord of harmonics, many of them dissonant.

From Project Gutenberg

No drooping Clytie could be more constant than I to him who strikes the chord that is responsive in my soul.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• arc
• arch
• contour
• loop
• trajectory