cord

[kawrd]

noun

a string or thin rope made of several strands braided, twisted, or woven together.

Electricity. a small, flexible, insulated cable.

a ribbed fabric, especially corduroy.

a cordlike rib on the surface of cloth.

any influence that binds or restrains: cord of marriage.

Anatomy. a cordlike structure: the spinal cord; umbilical cord.

a unit of volume used chiefly for fuel wood, now generally equal to 128 cu. ft. (3.6 cu. m), usually specified as 8 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 4 feet high (2.4 m × 1.2 m × 1.2 meters). Abbreviation: cd, cd.

a hangman's rope.

verb (used with object)

to bind or fasten with a cord or cords.

to pile or stack up (wood) in cords.

to furnish with a cord.

Origin of cord

1250–1300; Middle English coord(e) < Anglo-French, Old French corde < Latin chorda < Greek chordḗ gut; confused in part of its history with chord¹

Related formscord·er, nouncord·like, adjective

Can be confusedchord cord cored.

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

Examples from the Web for corder

Contemporary Examples of corder

Eventually Corder said he acquiesced, and the operator connected him.
Two Companies Accused of Fleecing U.S. Troops
R.M. Schneiderman
March 6, 2012
Those, like Corder, who claim to have spoken to an operator, said they have been met with evasion.
Two Companies Accused of Fleecing U.S. Troops
R.M. Schneiderman
March 6, 2012
(There is no mention of Corder speaking to an operator in the lawsuit).
Two Companies Accused of Fleecing U.S. Troops
R.M. Schneiderman
March 6, 2012

Historical Examples of corder

Corder put down his knife and fork, and looked up in amazement.
The Cock-House at Fellsgarth
Talbot Baines Reed
Corder stood in the door for a moment, on the off-chance that his friend might be joking.
The Cock-House at Fellsgarth
Talbot Baines Reed
“Rather,” said Corder, now thoroughly strung up to the point.
The Cock-House at Fellsgarth
Talbot Baines Reed
She appears in a state of stupor and Corder endeavours to urge her to accompany him.
Recollections of Old Liverpool
A Nonagenarian
Corder ought to have collared him then and there, I think, but he was in a difficult position.
The Red Triangle
Arthur Morrison

British Dictionary definitions for corder

cord

noun

string or thin rope made of several twisted strands

a length of woven or twisted strands of silk, etc, sewn on clothing or used as a belt

a ribbed fabric, esp corduroy

any influence that binds or restrains

US and Canadian a flexible insulated electric cable, used esp to connect appliances to mainsAlso called (in Britain and certain other countries): flex

anatomy any part resembling a string or ropethe spinal cord

a unit of volume for measuring cut wood, equal to 128 cubic feet

verb (tr)

to bind or furnish with a cord or cords

to stack (wood) in cords

Derived Formscorder, nouncordlike, adjective

Word Origin for cord

C13: from Old French corde, from Latin chorda cord, from Greek khordē; see chord 1

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 corder

cord

c.1300, from Old French corde "rope, string, twist, cord," from Latin chorda "string of a musical instrument, cat-gut," from Greek khorde "string, catgut, chord, cord," from PIE root *ghere- "intestine" (see yarn). As a measure of wood (eight feet long, four feet high and wide) first recorded 1610s, so called because it was measured with a cord of rope.

corder in Medicine

cord

n.

A long ropelike bodily structure, such as a nerve or tendon.