# quire

Pronunciation: US say "KWY-er" /ˈkwaɪɚ/; UK say "KWY-uh" /ˈkwaɪ.ə(ɹ)/

## Noun

1. A collection of twenty-four or twenty-five sheets of paper of the same size and quality, equal to one-twentieth of a ream.
   - Simple: A group of 24 or 25 sheets of paper that are all the same size and quality.
   - _She bought a quire of fine writing paper for her letters._
   - _The stationer measured out twenty quires to make up a full ream._
2. A set of leaves stitched together, originally four sheets folded into eight leaves and sixteen pages; usually a single signature, though sometimes several nested ones.
   - Simple: A group of folded sheets stitched together to form part of a book.
   - _The conservator carefully separated each quire to repair the damaged stitching._
   - _The medieval codex was assembled from dozens of nested quires._
4. The part of a church used by the choir, often one arm of a cross-shaped church near the apse.
   - Simple: The part of a church near the front where the singers sit.
   - _The cathedral's quire was separated from the nave by an ornate stone screen._
   - _Restorers uncovered medieval paintings on the ceiling of the quire._
5. A piece of writing such as a book, poem, or pamphlet.
   - Simple: A short book, poem, or printed pamphlet.
   - _The poet circulated his latest quire among close friends._
   - _A slender quire of political pamphlets sold quickly in the square._

## Verb

3. To prepare quires by stitching folded leaves of paper together into gatherings.
   - Simple: To stitch folded sheets of paper together to make parts of a book.
   - _Apprentice binders quire the folded sheets by hand before sewing them._
   - _She prefers to quire each section carefully to keep the pages aligned._
6. Alternative form of choir. *(literary)* — Alternative form of choir (“to sing in concert”).
   - Simple: Alternative form of choir. A poetic way to say singing together.

## Noun

7. Archaic form of choir. *(archaic)* — Archaic form of choir (“group of people who sing together”).
   - Simple: Archaic form of choir. An old spelling for a group of singers.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–3, 5** — This word comes from Middle English "quayer," borrowed from Anglo-Norman "quaier" and Old French "quaer," which trace back to Latin "quaternus" ("fourfold"), from "quater" ("four times"). It is a doublet of "cahier."
**Meanings 4, 6–7** — This word comes from Middle English "quer" or "quere," from Old French "quer," which goes back to Latin "chorus" and Ancient Greek "khorós" ("a company of dancers or singers"). It is a doublet of "choir," "chorus," and "hora."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/quire (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).