Cord Meaning
/kɔɹd/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA long, thin, flexible length of twisted yarns (strands) of fibre (a rope, for example).
nounAny quantity of such material when viewed as a mass or commodity.
Sentence Examples
He connected the cord to the machine.
Central nervous system consists of brain, cerebellum, medulla oblongata and spinal cord.
The father was the one who cut the cord.
CEFR Practice Quiz
He tied the package with a strong ____ to keep it secure.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He connected the ____ to the machine.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English corde, from Old French corde, from Latin chorda, from Ancient Greek χορδή (khordḗ, “string of gut, the string of a lyre”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰerH- (“bowels, intestines”)). Doublet of chord and cuerda. More at yarn and hernia.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Unerringly impelling this dead, impregnable, uninjurable wall, and this most buoyant thing within; there swims behind it all a mass of tremendous life, only to be adequately estimated as piled wood is—by the cord; and all obedient to one volition, as the smallest insect."
— 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “The Battering-ram”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 376:
"'If they buy three cords of birch logs,' said the witch, 'but they must be exact measure—and no bargaining about the price, and if they throw overboard the one cord of logs, piece by piece, when the first sea comes, and the other cord, piece by piece, when the second sea comes, and the third cord, piece by piece, when the third sea comes, then it's all over with us.'"
— 1881, P. Chr. Asbjörnsen [i.e., Peter Christen Asbjørnsen], “Mackerel Trolling”, in H. L. Brækstad, transl., Round the Yule Log. Norwegian Folk and Fairy Tales, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, →OCLC, page 187:
"Clear-headed friend, whose joyful scorn, / Edged with sharp laughter, cuts atwain / The knots that tangle human creeds, / The wounding cords that bind and strain / The heart until it bleeds, […]"
— 1842, Alfred Tennyson, “To—”, in Poems. […], volume I, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 15:
"Every detail of the house and garden was familiar; a thousand cords of memory and affection drew him thither; but a stronger counter-motive prevailed."
— 1900, Charles W[addell] Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC:
"Since spinal cord injury is associated with edema and changes in AQP4 expression, Ge and coworkers investigated the potential antiedema effect of epigallocatechin gallate and its underlying mechanism on a rat model of acute spinal cord injury."
— 2015 August 4, Diana Fiorentini et al., “Polyphenols as Modulators of Aquaporin Family in Health and Disease”, in Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, volume 2015, →DOI:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
He tied the package with a strong ____ to keep it secure.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He connected the ____ to the machine.