Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A slender length of flexible material usually made of twisted strands or fibers and used to bind, tie, connect, or support.
  • noun An insulated flexible electric wire fitted with a plug or plugs.
  • noun A hangman's rope.
  • noun An influence, feeling, or force that binds or restrains; a bond or tie.
  • noun Anatomy A long ropelike structure, such as a nerve or tendon.
  • noun A raised rib on the surface of cloth.
  • noun A fabric or cloth with such ribs.
  • noun Pants made of corduroy.
  • noun A unit of quantity for cut fuel wood, equal to a stack measuring 4 × 4 × 8 feet or 128 cubic feet (3.62 cubic meters).
  • transitive verb To fasten or bind with a cord.
  • transitive verb To furnish with a cord.
  • transitive verb To pile (wood) in cords.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To bind with cord or rope; fasten with cords: as, to cord a trunk.
  • To pile up, as wood or other material, for measurement and sale by the cord.
  • In bookbinding, to tie (a book) firmly between two boards until it is dry, so as to insure perfect smoothness in the cover.
  • noun A string or small rope composed of several strands of thread or vegetable fiber, twisted or woven together.
  • noun Something resembling a cord in form or function.
  • noun A quantity of firewood or other material, originally measured with a cord or line; a pile containing 128 cubic feet, or a pile 8 feet long, 4 feet high, and 4 feet broad.
  • noun A measure of length in several countries.
  • noun A measure of land. In Brittany it was 73.6 English square yards.
  • noun Figuratively, any influence which binds, restrains, draws, etc.: a frequent use of the term in Scripture: as, the cords of the wicked (Ps. cxxix. 4); the cords of his sins (Prov. v. 22); cords of vanity (Isa. v. 18); the cords of a man —that is, the bands or influence of love (Hos. xi. 4).
  • noun A strong ribbed fustian; corduroy.
  • noun In fancy weaving, the interval between two vertical lines of the design.
  • To accord; harmonize; agree.
  • To become hard and cord-like: noting a condition occasionally encountered in the blood-vessels.
  • noun An imperfection on the surface of glass. See cordy.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To bind with a cord; to fasten with cords; to connect with cords; to ornament or finish with a cord or cords, as a garment.
  • transitive verb To arrange (wood, etc.) in a pile for measurement by the cord.
  • noun A string, or small rope, composed of several strands twisted together.
  • noun A solid measure, equivalent to 128 cubic feet; a pile of wood, or other coarse material, eight feet long, four feet high, and four feet broad; -- originally measured with a cord or line.
  • noun Fig.: Any moral influence by which persons are caught, held, or drawn, as if by a cord; an enticement.
  • noun (Anat.) Any structure having the appearance of a cord, esp. a tendon or a nerve. See under Spermatic, Spinal, Umbilical, Vocal.
  • noun (Mus.), obsolete See Chord.
  • noun wood for fuel cut to the length of four feet (when of full measure).

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun 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.
  • noun 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.
  • noun A unit of measurement for firewood, equal to 128 cubic feet (4 x 4 x 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.
  • noun See cords.
  • noun Common misspelling of chord: a cross-section measurement of an aircraft wing.
  • verb To furnish with cords
  • verb To tie or fasten with cords
  • verb To flatten a book during binding
  • verb To arrange (wood, etc.) in a pile for measurement by the cord.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a light insulated conductor for household use
  • noun a unit of amount of wood cut for burning; 128 cubic feet
  • verb bind or tie with a cord
  • noun a cut pile fabric with vertical ribs; usually made of cotton
  • verb stack in cords
  • noun a line made of twisted fibers or threads

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old French corde, from Latin chorda, from Greek khordē; see gherə- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old French corde, from Latin chorda, from Ancient Greek (Doric) χορδά (khorda), Ionic χορδή (khorde, "string of gut, the string of a lyre")

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Examples

  • Cord A simple name for ‘tendon’, a part of the body that connects muscle to bone For example, the heel cord or ‘Achilles Tendon’ joins the calf muscle to the heel (Note: The ‘spinal cord’ is not a tendon It is made of nerves)

    Chapter 9 1999

  • Tumours growing _in the substance of the cord_ are nearly as common as extra-medullary growths, and as the growth is usually sarcoma, glioma, tuberculoma, or gumma, and infiltrates the cord, it is seldom capable of being removed by operation.

    Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. Alexander Miles 1893

  • _Welting cord_, a cord sewed into the welt or border of a garment.

    A Treatise on Domestic Economy For the Use of Young Ladies at Home and at School Catharine Esther Beecher 1839

  • _long cord_, upon some convenient healthy part, (the spinal cord, or other nerve centre which gives nervous service to the part affected, is best,) and treat the lesion with N. P., _light force_, five to eight minutes daily.

    A Newly Discovered System of Electrical Medication Daniel Clark

  • And again the cord is a part of the whole expression of the lamp, as it has been wrapped in grey textile material in order to bring a nuance of light and shade into the white look.

    New Lighting from Lightyears 2008

  • I think the cord is a little wonky in places, as both the girls took turns using it, but frankly, it still looks fine, and I'm very happy with the necklace - the little face is on a background of Angelina-covered black fabric on this not-quite-inchie.

    Archive 2007-07-01 katelnorth 2007

  • I think the cord is a little wonky in places, as both the girls took turns using it, but frankly, it still looks fine, and I'm very happy with the necklace - the little face is on a background of Angelina-covered black fabric on this not-quite-inchie.

    More cats, and cords, inchies, cards and so on katelnorth 2007

  • DAVID SWANSON, PHOTOGRAPHER, "PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER": We were doing what they call a cord and a knock early Saturday morning, going to about 10-15 houses.

    CNN Transcript Apr 20, 2004 2004

  • Finally, the "cord" is made from twisted strips of the same painted dryer sheets.

    Archive 2007-09-01 katelnorth 2007

  • Finally, the "cord" is made from twisted strips of the same painted dryer sheets.

    A mostly postcard day katelnorth 2007

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