▪ I. cord, n.1
(kɔːd)
Forms: 4–5 coorde, 4–7 corde, 6 coarde, 7–8 coard, 4– cord. See also chord n.1
[a. F. corde string of a musical instrument, string, rope, cord:—L. chorda, ad. Gr. χορδή gut, string of a musical instrument (made of gut). The later refashioning chord, q.v., is now restricted to a few special senses.]
1. a. A string composed of several strands twisted or woven together; in ordinary popular use, now restricted to small ropes, and thick or stout strings; but formerly applied more widely, e.g. to the ropes of a ship, the string of a bow, etc. Cf. also whip-cord, welting-cord, and quot. 1835. Also applied to strands of wire twisted or woven together.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 21256 (Cott.) Abute his hals a cord þai fest, And tilward prison drogh. c 1305 St. Andrew in E.E.P. (1862) 100 Bynde him honde and fet..Wiþ stronge corden. c 1400 Destr. Troy 2012 Þai kairen to þe cordis, knitten vp þe saile. c 1477 Caxton Jason 42 b, Saye no more that I take two cordes or strenges on my bowe. 1483 ― Gold. Leg. 160/2 They hewe the cordes of the shyppe. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon xlvi. 154 There was no cord but it was of gold and sylke. 1535 Coverdale Judges xvi. 11 Yf they bounde me with new coardes. 1611 Bible John ii. 15 A scourge of small cordes. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 444 ¶4 A Twine-Cord, strained with two Nails at each End. 1812–6 Playfair Nat. Phil. (1819) I. 85 The pulley is a wheel moveable on an axis with a groove cut in its circumference, round which a cord passes. 1835 Ure Philos. Manuf. 94 Turkey [silk] has a flaxen appearance, and consists of ten ultimate filaments, which form a cord of 1/333 of an inch. 1871 Morley Voltaire (1886) 344 Wearing the cord of St. Francis. |
b. A rope for hanging; the hangman's rope.
| c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 1141 (Mätz.) Thei ye me hong bi a cord. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 2485 Phillis, She was her owne deeth right with a corde. 1483 Caxton Cato C j, Yf he had the corde aboute hys necke for to be hanged. 1604 Shakes. Oth. iii. iii. 388 If there be Cords, or Kniues, Poyson, or Fire. 1670 G. H. Hist. Cardinals i. i. 7 They will soon create you a Knight of the Hempen Cord. 1814 Scott Ld. of Isles ii. xiii, Left his men to brand and cord. 1886 Morley Crit. Misc. I. 44 Robespierre had the typic sacerdotal temperament..its private leanings to the stake and the cord. |
c. pl. The ropes inclosing that part of a racecourse, near the winning-post, where the spectators stand; the part inclosed by them.
| 1787–91 ‘G. Gambado’ Acad. Horsem. (1809) 113 Just as they [horses] enter'd the cords, they were both at laps. Ibid. 114 Whilst new wagers echoed from the Betting Gap and cords every moment. 1879 Daily News 16 Apr. 2/3 This order was maintained until inside the cords, when Leghorn was beaten. |
d. transf.| 1875 Ure Dict. Arts II. 244 The electrical cord in this cable is composed of 7 small wires twisted together and insulated by a thick layer of gutta-percha. |
e. (without
a and
pl.) As a material.
| 1875 Gwilt Arch. §2260 Patent copper wire cord..extensively used for window sash line..picture cord, clock cord, etc. 1881 Jefferies Wood Magic I. iii. 73 The end of Pan's chain..was not of iron, but tar-cord. 1882 [see Cord-work in 12]. Mod. A piece of stout cord. |
f. Applied to pottery ornamented with impressions of cord (
cf. corded ppl. a. 3 b). So
cord-beaker (G.
schnurbecher).
| 1902 J. Abercromby in Jrnl. Anthrop. Inst. XXXII. 391 (heading) The ‘Cord-beaker’ and its Offshoots. 1928 Peake & Fleure Steppe & Sown ii. 26 A ware, known as string-ornamented ware or cord pottery, that seems to have been derived ultimately from the pottery of the Russian steppe. 1954 S. Piggott Neolithic Cultures ii. 30 The late appearance of cord-wares of Peterborough or Ebbsfleet type at Windmill Hill and Whitehawk. |
¶ Literal rendering of L.
funiculus in the Vulgate (
Heb. ḥbl cord, measuring-line, tract, region).
| 1382 Wyclif Ezek. xlvii. 13 For Joseph hath double coord, or part. 1609 Bible (Douay) Zeph. ii. 5 Wo to you that inhabite the cord of the sea. |
2. Anat. A structure in the animal body resembling a cord.
† a. Formerly used to render L.
nervus,
Gr. νεῦρον, applied both to the tendons or sinews and to the nerves. (
Cf. nerve.)
| c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 24 A corde..comeþ from þe brayne eiþer from þe nucha. From þe brayn comen vij. peire cordes & þei ben cleped sensible senewis. Ibid. 29 Þat þat is maad of þis nerf & þis ligament is cleped a corde. 1541 R. Copland Guydon's Quest. Chirurg., From it [the muscle] discendeth rounde strynges and cordes that cometh nygh to the ioyntes. 1601 Holland Pliny I. 345 Sinews, Cords, and Ligaments. |
b. Now applied generally to a nerve trunk, and
spec. to certain structures,
esp. the
spermatic cord,
spinal cord, and
umbilical cord, the
vocal cords; see these words.
| 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VIII. 15 [The intestines of a caterpillar are] strengthened on both sides by a fleshy cord, by which they are united. 1830 R. Knox Béclard's Anat. 20 A nervous ring..from which proceed two cords running along the whole length of the body. 1842 E. Wilson Anat. Vade M. 550 The Spermatic Cord is the medium of communication between the testes and the interior of the abdomen. 1851 Carpenter Man. Phys. (ed. 2) 540 The thickness of the Spinal Cord differs considerably at its different parts. 1855 Ramsbotham Obstetr. Med. 79 The..Umbilical Cord, or Navel String, is a rope-like cord running from the navel of the child into the body of the placenta. |
¶ In the following passage
app. applied to a supposed vital fibre or ligament (
cf. heart-strings), with a
fig. reference to the string of a musical instrument (sense 4).
| 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, iii. ii. 106, I would 'twere something y{supt} would fret the string, The Master-cord on's heart. |
3. A part of a plant with a cord-like appearance or function.
| 1776 Withering Brit. Plants (1796) I. 367 An elastic Cord taken out of the ripe Capsule. 1866 Treas. Bot., Umbilical cord, a thread by which seeds are sometimes attached to their placenta. |
† 4. A string of a musical instrument; now written
chord,
q.v.| a 1340 Hampole Psalter cxliii. 10 In psawtry of ten cordis til þe sall I synge. 1382 Wyclif Ps. cl. 4 Preise ȝee hym in cordis and orgne. [1820 Shelley tr. Homer's Hymn to Mercury viii, Symphonious cords of sheep-gut rhythmical.] 1830 Juan de Vega [C. Cochrane] Jrnl. Tour ii. (1847) 10 One of the young ladies..examining my guitar, lightly touched the cords with her fingers. |
† 5. Math. A straight line joining the extremities of an arc; now written
chord.
| 1551 Recorde [see chord n.1 4]. |
6. Farriery. (Usually
pl.) A disease affecting the sinews of a horse; string-halt. ?
Obs.| 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §92 The cordes is a thynge that wyll make a horse to stumble..and appereth before the forther legges. a 1605 Montgomerie Flyting 301 The cords and the cout-euill, the claisps and the cleiks. 1616 Surfl. & Markh. Country Farme 147 If your Horse be troubled with the Cords, take a corued [? cornet] made of the brow-antler of an old Stagges horne, and thrust it vnder the Cord, and twynd it ten or twelue times about..then cut the Cord asunder. 1702 Lond. Gaz. No. 3855/4 A brown-bay Horse..two small Knots on his Nose which was cut for the Cords. |
7. a. Arch. The semicircular nosing or projection of a string-course.
b. Glass Manuf.| 1776 G. Semple Building in Water 137 The Plinth and Cord. 1807 T. Thomson Chem. (ed. 3) II. 513 Cords. These are asperities on the surface of the glass, in consequence of too little heat. |
8. A raised cord-like rib on the surface of cloth; a ribbed fabric,
esp. corduroy;
ellipt. in
pl. corduroy breeches or trousers.
| 1776 Specif. of Woostenholme's Patent No. 1123. 3 Velveteen cords are made of the same materials. 1795 Aikin Manchester 163 The fustian trade has also been improved by the addition of..strong and fancy cords. 1837 T. Hook Jack Brag i, Our sprightly gentleman in the scarlet jacket and white cords. 1843 Lever J. Hinton vii, A green coat of jockey cut, a buff waistcoat, white cords. 1875 Ure Dict. Arts II. 527 Cantoon is a fustian with a fine cord visible upon the one side, and a satiny surface of yarns running at right angles to the cords upon the other side. Ibid., An example of king's cord or corduroy, and of Dutch cord. |
9. a. A measure of cut wood,
esp. that used for fuel (
prob. so called because originally measured with a cord): a pile of wood, most frequently 8 feet long, 4 feet broad, and 4 feet high, but varying in different localities.
| 1616 Sir R. Boyle Diary (1886) I. 112, 20 cordes of olde woode. 1677 A. Yarranton Eng. Improv. 61 A Tun and three quarters of Timber will but make one Coard of Wood. 1725 Lond. Gaz. No. 6447/4 Which Stacks or Piles of Wood did contain about Thirteen Coards. 1804 Nelson in Nicolas Disp. (1845) V. 437 Commissioned to procure ten chords of wood for the Victory. 1817–8 Cobbett Resid. U.S. (1822) 266, 2 dollars a cord for Hickory; a cord is 8 feet by 4, and 4 deep. 1874 J. Deady in Law Times Rep. XXXI. 231/2 The loss of the John Francis, and her cargo of eighty cords of ash wood. |
b. A measure of stone or rock.
| 1703 T. N. City & C. Purchaser 256 In some parts of Kent, Stones are sold by the Cord, consisting of 27 solid Feet. 1882 Kentish Express 1 July 1/1 Tenders..for digging 300 cord of rock, at Kick-hill..near Hythe. |
10. Weaving. One of the strings which connect the leaves with the treadles in a pattern-weaving loom (or the neck or harness twines to the hooks in a jacquard loom); also, the space of the design-paper confined by two vertical lines and representing one of the threads of the warp.
| 1875 Ure Dict. Arts III. 982 Upon the design-paper..the dots..denote raising cords, the blanks, sinking cords. |
11. fig. a. With reference to the binding or confining power of a cord. Chiefly in scriptural language, or expressions derived from it.
| 1382 Wyclif Job xxxvi. 8 If thei shul..ben bounde with cordis of porenesse. ― Prov. v. 22 With the cordis of his synnes he is togidere streyned. 1535 Coverdale Hos. xi. 4, I led them with coardes of frendshipe. a 1600 Hooker Eccl. Pol. vi. vi. §8 The wicked shall be held fast in the cords of his own sin. 1667 Poole Dial. betw. Protest. & Papist (1735) 53 Here is a fourfold Cord, which you will find is not easily broken. 1850 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xxvi. 294 Those mysterious intimations which the soul feels, as the cords begin to unbind ere it leaves its clay for ever. 1883 Stevenson Treasure Isl. iii. xiii. (1886) 104 The very sight of the island had relaxed the cords of discipline. |
b. A ‘thread’ which runs through and unites the parts of anything.
| 1879 S. C. Bartlett Egypt to Pal. i. 13 Through all the..multitudinous sights of Europe, there is found one central historic cord running up to antiquity. |
12. Comb., as
cord-maker,
cord-net;
cord-bound,
cord-like,
cord-shaped adjs.;
cord-drill, a drill worked by a cord twisted round it and pulled backwards and forwards;
cord-grass, a modern name for
Spartina stricta (erroneously attributed to Turner, who called it Frail-bente);
cord-leaf, a name given by Lindley to plants of the family Restiaceæ (
Treas. Bot.);
cord-moss, ‘the genus
Funaria’ (Miller
Plant-n.);
cord-ornamented a., applied to pottery decorated by pressing cord into the soft clay before firing;
cord-reel, a reel on which cord is wound;
cord-rooted a., having roots like cords;
cord-winder, one who makes cords or ropes;
† cord-wise adv., in the manner of a cord;
cord-work (see
quot.). See also
cord-wood.
| 1834 F. Wrangham Homerics 11 The *cord-bound raft. |
| 1865 Tylor Early Hist. Man. ix. 241 The Brahmins still use a *cord-drill. |
| 1861 Miss Pratt Flowering Pl. VI. 51 *Cord-grass. 1884 Miller Plant-n., Spartina stricta, Common Cord-grass, Mat-weed, Spart-grass, Twin-spiked Cord-grass. |
| 1845 Lindley Veget. Kingd. (1853) 105 The *Cord-leafs (Restiaceæ). |
| 1611 Cotgr., Cordeleux, cordie, *cord-like. 1809 Med. Jrnl. XXI. 423 The inflammation crept gradually up the vein, which was evident from its peculiar cord-like feel. |
| 1580 North Plutarch (1676) 138 *Cord-makers, Sadlers, Coller-makers. |
| 1630 in Binnell Descr. Thames (1758) 65 Any Draw-Net, *Cord-Net, or other Net. |
| 1925 Childe Dawn Europ. Civ. xv. 235 A battle-axe folk..using *cord-ornamented pottery. 1928 Peake & Fleure Steppe & Sown iii. 44 Sherds of cord ornamented pottery. 1951 S. Piggott Neolithic Cultures xi. 303 The great groups of cord-ornamented and pit-comb wares of northern Europe. |
| 1616 Surfl. & Markh. Country Farme 255 Many measures of small cord..many *cord-reeles. |
| 1890 Nature 17 Apr. 557 *Cord-rooted grasses. |
| 1846 Ellis Elgin Marb. II. 120 A *cord-shaped diadem round the hair. |
| 1707 Lond. Gaz. No. 4362/4 Lancelot Bowler..*Cordwinder. |
| 1541 R. Copland Guydon's Quest. Cyrurg., They waxe rounde in *cordewyse. |
| 1882 Dict. Needlework, *Cord Work..is a kind of coarse needle lace executed with black or coloured purse silks, fine bobbin cord, or strong linen thread. |
▪ II. † cord, n.2 Obs. Aphetic
f. accord; see also
chord n.2| c 1300 K. Alis. 411 He [tellith] to hire, by word and cord, Alle the jestis of Ammon his lord. 1340 Ayenb. 58 Þet hi myȝten his [= them] draȝe to hare corde. c 1440 [see accord n. 2]. |
▪ III. cord, v.1 (
kɔːd)
Also 5
coord, 6
coard, 8
chord.
[f. cord n.1] 1. trans. To furnish with a cord; to string (
e.g. a bow).
| c 1430 Pilgr. Life Manhode iv. lviii. (1869) 204 With þe corde which þe bowe was corded, and þat j haue vncorded. 1870 [see corder 3]. |
2. a. To bind or fasten with a cord or cords.
| 1610 Markham Masterp. ii. v. 228 You shal then cord him hard about the midst of the necke. 1691 Lond. Gaz. No. 2646/4 A hair Portmantua Trunk, lock'd and corded. 1708 Ockley Saracens (1848) 403 He commanded his men to cord the tents closer together. 1844 Dickens Mart. Chuz. vi, Miss Charity called him to come and cord her box. 1875 Ure Dict. Arts III. 980 To cord the treddle 1, to the back leaf, put a raising cord, and to each of the other four, sinking cords. |
b. Bookbinding. To tie (a book) between two boards to keep the cover smooth while drying.
| 1876 Encycl. Brit. IV. 43/2 As a last operation in forwarding, but one now frequently omitted, the book is ‘corded’, that is, firmly tied between two boards until it is dry, so as to insure perfect smoothness in the cover. |
3. To stack or put up (wood) in ‘cords’.
| 1762 tr. Busching's Syst. Geog. V. 652 The greater part of the wood which is transported to Hamburg..is first corded here. 1870 Emerson Soc. & Solit. xi. 239 The owner of the wood-lot finds only a number of discolored trees, and says..‘they should be cut and corded before spring’. |
4. (Chiefly as
ppl. a.) To cause (a muscle, etc.) to stand out in cord-like patterns when hard or taut,
esp. through effort or emotion. Also of the part of the body affected, and
intr.| 1886 Stevenson Dr. Jekyll x. 121 The hand..was lean, corded, knuckly. 1903 Conrad & Hueffer Romance i. i. 7 Rooksby..began..to switch his corded legs. 1959 M. Renault Charioteer iii. 37 The vein inside the elbow corded and stood out. 1962 R. Graves New Poems 7 My broad forehead grim with pride, Muscles corded on my calves. |
▪ IV. † cord, v.2 Obs. Also
corde.
[Aphetic form of accord v.] 1. trans. To bring to agreement, reconcile;
= accord v. 1.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 9722 (Cott.) Merci and hir sisters tua, Blithli wald i cord þam sua. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 92 Cordyd or accordyde, concordatus. |
2. intr. Of persons: To come to agreement, agree
with; to agree, assent
to;
= accord v. 5, 6.
| c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 101 Of a peny þou cordist wiþ me. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 91 To þis sentens I suppose Austeyn to cord. c 1430 Lydg. Bochas (1558) ii. xxii. 6 Touching his dreme they corded all in one. c 1435 Torr. Portugal 1359, I cord with that assent. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 194 To gar thair myndis cord in one. |
3. Of things: To agree, be in harmony;
impers. to be suitable;
= accord v. 7, 8.
| 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 316 Þos says þe prophet David, In a psalme þat cordes þar-wyth. c 1374 [see accord v. 8]. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 30 It cordiþ to hem [prestis] to ȝeue comyn. 14.. Gram. Rules in Reliq. Ant. II. 14 And how a nowne substantyfe Wylle corde with a verbe and a relatyfe. a 1500 Chaucer's Dreme 1250 Counsell cords not well in rime. |
So
† ˈcordable,
† ˈcordant adjs.,
† ˈcordantly adv.,
= accordable, etc.;
† ˈcording vbl. n., agreement, reconciliation
= according;
† ˈcording ppl. a. and adv. = according (in
quot. 1593
quasi-prep. = ‘according to’).
| a 1300 Cursor M. 9515 (Cott.) A sample cordant [Trin. ensaumple cordyng], þat i tok Vte of sent Robert bok. 1382 Wyclif 2 Chron. xx. 21 With cordaunt voice. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 6 Cordandli wiþ holi writ. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. vi. 214 And after oilderose We may baptize and name it, cordyng even. 1470–85 Malory Arthur i. xi, They..made grete ioye of their welfare and cordyng. 1483 Cath. Angl. 75 Cordynge in sang, concentus. 1485 Caxton Paris & V. (1868) 3 This loue was not wel lykely ne cordable. 1593 T. Watson Teares of Fancie lix. 208 To paint thy glories cording their desart. 1860 Heavysege Count Filippo 22 As one struck string, To other cordant, with low breath responds. |