quire
English · Français
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
quire¹
- /ˈkwaɪ.ə(ɹ)/ UK
Sounds like choir · Rhymes with -aɪə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
From Middle English quayer, from Anglo-Norman quaier and Old French quaer, from Latin quaternus (“fourfold”), from quater (“four times”). Doublet of cahier.
noun quires
- One-twentieth of a ream of paper; a collection of twenty-four or twenty-five sheets of paper of the same size and quality, unfolded or having a single fold. Under the year 1533 we are told that the ream contained twenty quires.
- A set of leaves which are stitched together, originally a set of four pieces of paper (eight leaves, sixteen pages). This is most often a single signature (i.e. group of four), but may be several nested signatures.
- A book, poem, or pamphlet.
verb quires · quiring · quired
- To prepare quires by stitching together leaves of paper. Now, in the first folio volume of 1616, the paging, signatures, and quiring are continuous and regular throughout.
quire²
- /ˈkwaɪ.ə(ɹ)/ UK
Sounds like choir · Rhymes with -aɪə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
From Middle English quer, quere, from Old French quer, from Latin chorus, from Ancient Greek χορός (khorós, “company of dancers or singers”). Doublet of choir, chorus, and hora.
noun quires
- Uncommon form of choir (“one quarter of a cruciform church, or the architectural area of a church used by the choir, often near the apse”).
- Archaic spelling of choir (“group of people who sing together”). Madam, myself have lim'd a bush for her, And plac'd a quire of such enticing birds, That she will light to listen to the lays, And never mount to trouble you again.
verb quires · quiring · quired
- Poetic spelling of choir (“to sing in concert”). Sit, Jessica. Look how the floor of heaven / Is thick inlaid with patines of bright gold: / There's not the smallest orb which thou behold'st / But in his motion like an angel sings, / Still quiring to the young-eyed cherubins; / Such harmony is in immortal souls; / But whilst this muddy vesture of
Translations
Talk about this word "quire." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/quire. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. quire. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/quire "quire." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/quire.Cite this
@misc{quire_2026,
title = {quire},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/quire},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
