choir

English Online Dictionary. What means choir‎? What does choir mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English quer, quere, from Old French quer, from Latin chorus, from Ancient Greek χορός (khorós, “company of dancers or singers”). Modern spelling influenced by chorus and French chœur. Doublet of quire, chorus, and hora.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /kwaɪə(ɹ)/, /kwa(ɹ)/ (rapid speech)
• (US) IPA^(key): /kwaɪɚ/, /kwaɹ/ (rapid speech)
• Rhymes: -aɪə(ɹ)
• Homophone: quire

Noun

choir (plural choirs)

1. A group of people who sing together; a company of people who are trained to sing together.

   Alternative form: (archaic) quire
2. (architecture) Uncommon form of quire (“one quarter of a cruciform church, or the architectural area of a church used by the choir, often near the apse”).
3. (Christian angelology) One of the nine ranks or orders of angels.

4. Set of strings (one per note) for a harpsichord.

Usage notes

• Although choir and quire originated as two spellings of the same word, they have gradually diverged in meaning in modern English.

Derived terms

Related terms

• choral
• chorus
• quire

Translations

Verb

choir (third-person singular simple present choirs or quires, present participle choiring or quiring, simple past and past participle choired or quired)

1. (intransitive) To sing in concert.

References

Anagrams

• chiro, chiro-, chori, ichor, orchi

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French cheoir, from Old French cheoir, from older chedeir, from Late Latin cadēre, from Latin cadĕre, from Proto-Italic *kadō, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱh₂d- (“to fall”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃwaʁ/
• Rhymes: -waʁ

Verb

choir (defective) (past participle chu)

1. (literary) to fall

   Synonym: tomber

Conjugation

We can find the present participle chéant/cheyant, the imperfect indicatif chéais, chéait/cheyait. This is a defective verb, only conjugated in certain tenses.

Derived terms

• chute
• déchoir
• échoir
• méchoir
• rechoir

Further reading

• “choir”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [xɛɾʲ]

Noun

choir m

1. Lenited form of coir.

Old Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈxo.ɨrʲ]

Adjective

choïr

1. Lenited form of coïr.