choir

[kwahyuh r]

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noun

a company of singers, especially an organized group employed in church service.

any group of musicians or musical instruments; a musical company, or band, or a division of one: string choir.

Architecture.

the part of a church occupied by the singers of the choir.
the part of a cruciform church east of the crossing.

(in medieval angelology) one of the orders of angels.

adjective

professed to recite or chant the divine office: a choir monk.

verb (used with or without object)

to sing or sound in chorus.

Origin of choir

1250–1300; Middle English quer < Old French cuer < Latin chorus chorus; replacing Old English chor choir < Latin

Related formschoir·like, adjective

Can be confusedchoir quire¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for choir

ensemble, chorus, trio, cast, orchestra, band, troupe, assemblage, quintet, sextet, quartet, serenade, chant, warble, whistle, shout, croon, hum, wait, intone

Examples from the Web for choir

Contemporary Examples of choir

But I was a choir geek, and then got frustrated and took an acting class and realized that was the thing for me.
Michael C. Hall on Going Drag for ‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’ and Exorcising ‘Dexter’
Marlow Stern
December 4, 2014
The play of Sunday, the play of being angels in the choir, is not just a peripheral secondary marginal realm of activity.
Joseph Campbell on the Roots of Halloween
Joseph Campbell
October 31, 2014
It was in the vestry where the choir was putting on its garments.
Joseph Campbell on the Roots of Halloween
Joseph Campbell
October 31, 2014
Surreally, a choir of high school students at the gate adjoining ours begins singing a hymnal.
Hallucinating Away a Heroin Addiction
Abby Haglage
May 4, 2014
Lewis grew up in Florida, and sang in church, choir, and in school.
Norm Lewis, Broadway’s First Black ‘Phantom,’ on Racism, Heroes, and Dream Roles
Tim Teeman
March 21, 2014

Historical Examples of choir

He could hear the music of the organ, and presently the choir began to sing an anthem.
The Foolish Lovers
St. John G. Ervine
Josie, of course, was prompt to oust Angie Tuthill from her place in the choir.
The Fortune Hunter
Louis Joseph Vance
I wish you'd commence to-night, instead of choir practice night.
The Fortune Hunter
Louis Joseph Vance
It was a low vault, with squat arches, on exactly the same plan as the choir.
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola
Thirdly, the choir of elder men, who are from thirty to sixty years of age, will also sing.
Laws
Plato

British Dictionary definitions for choir

choir

noun

an organized group of singers, esp for singing in church services

the part of a cathedral, abbey, or church in front of the altar, lined on both sides with benches, and used by the choir and clergyCompare chancel
(as modifier)choir stalls

a number of instruments of the same family playing togethera brass choir

Also called: choir organ one of the manuals on an organ controlling a set of soft sweet-toned pipesCompare great (def. 21), swell (def. 16)

any of the nine orders of angels in medieval angelology

Archaic spelling: quire

Derived Formschoirlike, adjective

Word Origin for choir

C13 quer, from Old French cuer, from Latin chorus

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for choir

c.1300, queor "part of the church where the choir sings," from Old French cuer, quer "choir of a church (architectural); chorus of singers" (13c., Modern French choeur), from Latin chorus "choir" (see chorus). Meaning "band of singers" is c.1400, quyre. Re-spelled mid-17c. on Latin model.