choir

Meaning

1. A group of people who sing together; a company of people who are trained to sing together.
2. 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. One of the nine ranks or orders of angels.
4. Set of strings (one per note) for a harpsichord.

chorus

choir loft

choral singing

chorus group

church choir

Frequency

Pronounced as (IPA)

/kwaɪə(ɹ)/

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.

New

quire

1. One-twentieth of a ream of paper; a collection of twenty-four or twenty-five sheets of paper of the same size and quality, unfolded or having a single fold.
2. A set of leaves which are stitched together, originally a set of four pieces of paper (eight leaves, sixteen pages). This is most often a single signature (i.e. group of four), but may be several nested signatures.
3. A book, poem, or pamphlet.