chord
chord1 definition
chord (kôrd)
noun
- Archaic the string of a musical instrument
- a feeling or emotion thought of as being played on like the string of a harp to strike a sympathetic chord
- Aeron.
- an imaginary straight line extending directly through an airfoil from the leading to the trailing edge
- the length of such a line
- Anat. cord (sense )
- Engineering a principal horizontal member in a rigid framework, as of a bridge
- Geom. a straight line segment joining any two points on an arc, curve, or circumference
Etymology: altered (infl. by L chorda) < cord
chord2 definition
chord (kôrd)
noun
Music a combination of three or more tones sounded together in harmony
Etymology: altered (infl. by L chorda) < ME cord, aphetic < accord, accord
intransitive verb, transitive verb
- to harmonize
- to play chords on (a piano, guitar, etc.)
Related Forms:
- chordal chord′al adjective
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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