cords
cords Lexical Profile
cords Game Scores & Validity
• noun
Thin, flexible strings or ropes made from several twisted strands, or insulated electrical cables used to connect appliances to a power source.
"She neatly bundled the power cords behind her desk to keep the workspace organized."
Cord-like anatomical structures in the body, such as the vocal cords or the spinal cord.
"Professional singers warm up carefully to avoid straining their vocal cords."
Trousers or pants made of corduroy fabric.
"He wore a pair of brown cords and a wool sweater to the autumn lecture."
Units of measurement for stacked firewood, each equal to 128 cubic feet (typically a stack four feet high, four feet wide, and eight feet long).
"The cabin owners stacked two cords of seasoned oak firewood beside the shed before winter arrived."
• verb
To bind, fasten, or secure with a cord, OR to stack firewood into measured cords.
"He cords the cut timber into neat stacks along the fence every autumn."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse 'cords' with its homophone 'chords' (combinations of musical notes or straight lines joining two points on a curve). Notably, the anatomical structures in the throat are properly spelled 'vocal cords', not 'vocal chords'.
Word Origin & Etymology
Derived from Middle English corde, borrowed from Old French corde, which comes from Latin chorda ('catgut, string of a musical instrument') and Ancient Greek khordē ('gut, string'). The informal sense meaning 'corduroy trousers' is a shortening of corduroys.