cord

English

/kɔɹd/, /kɔːd/

noun
Definitions
  • A long, thin, flexible length of twisted yarns (strands) of fiber (rope, for example); uncountable such a length of twisted strands considered as a commodity.
  • A small flexible electrical conductor composed of wires insulated separately or in bundles and assembled together usually with an outer cover; the electrical cord of a lamp, sweeper (US vacuum cleaner), or other appliance.
  • A unit of measurement for firewood, equal to 128 cubic feet (4 × 4 × 8 feet), composed of logs and/or split logs four feet long and none over eight inches diameter. It is usually seen as a stack four feet high by eight feet long.
  • (figuratively) Any influence by which persons are caught, held, or drawn, as if by a cord.
  • (anatomy) Any structure having the appearance of a cord, especially a tendon or nerve.
  • musical sense.
  • a cross-section measurement of an aircraft wing.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English corde derived from Old French corde derived from Latin chorda (cord, gut, string, rope, chord) derived from Ancient Greek χορδά (the string of a lyre, string of gut) derived from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰer- (yearn, enclose, bowels, yearn for, scratch, short, bristle, bowel, catch, wish, shine, guts, scrape, feel inclination, glow, intestine, string).

Origin

Proto-Indo-European

*ǵʰer-

Gloss

yearn, enclose, bowels, yearn for, scratch, short, bristle, bowel, catch, wish, shine, guts, scrape, feel inclination, glow, intestine, string

Concept
Semantic Field

The body

Ontological Category

Action/Process

Kanji

短

Emoji

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms