chord means A harmonic set of three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. It carries an Arena rating of 1394, earned across 5 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, chord ranks #1,653 of 17,058 for Most Ingenious Words, #2,339 of 17,052 for Most Malleable Words, #2,440 of 17,052 for Most Storied Words, #4,561 of 17,052 for Most Elegant Words.
chord is pronounced /kɔːd/.
Why “chord” is a great word
A harmonic set of three or more musical notes played simultaneously. A variant of 'cord,' with spelling alteration influenced by Latin chorda ('string of a musical instrument'), from Ancient Greek χορδή (khordḗ, 'gut string, lyre string'). Unlike 'cord' (a length of rope) or 'accord' (a general harmony or agreement), a chord is the precise, physical stacking of simultaneous pitches. It is the struck piano key releasing three felt hammers at once, the guitarist's fingers pressing steel against frets to birth a resonant cry, and the choir's voices converging into a tone that hangs like visible smoke—the mathematics of emotion made momentarily audible, proof that separate things, struck together, can become one.
Etymology
Variant of cord, with spelling alteration due to Latin chorda (“cord”), ultimately from Ancient Greek χορδή (khordḗ, “string of gut, the string of a lyre”). No relation to French accord (“chord”) and its derivations. Doublet of cuerda.
noun
- A harmonic set of three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously.e.g.“He struck the opening chords of the passage; but this time Irene's voice was silent. Victor stopped in the middle of an arpeggio.”
- A line segment between two points of a curve.
- A horizontal member of a truss.
- A horizontal member of a truss.; A section of subsidiary railway track that interconnects two primary tracks that cross at different levels, to permit traffic to flow between them.
- The distance between the leading and trailing edge of a wing, measured in the direction of the normal airflow.
- An imaginary line from the luff of a sail to its leech.
- A keyboard shortcut that involves two or more distinct keypresses, such as Ctrl+M followed by P.e.g.“Ctrl-K is the default first key for chords, but you can create chords using any keys that you want.”
- The string of a musical instrument.e.g.“Instruments that made melodious Chime
Was heard, of Harp and Organ; and who mov'd
Their Stops and Chords was seen”
- A cord.
- An edge that is not part of a cycle but connects two vertices of the cycle.
verb
- To write chords for.e.g.“This chording technique works well for learning any tune, but this is the only tune of the set that I will write out completely as a chorded version.”
- To accord; to harmonize together.e.g.“This note chords with that one.”
- To provide with musical chords or strings; to string; to tune.e.g.“When Jubal struck the chorded shell.”
Words closest in meaning
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