choir

Etymology

From Middle English quer, quere, from Old French quer, from Latin chorus, from Ancient Greek χορός (khorós, “company of dancers or singers”). Modern spelling influenced by chorus and Modern French chœur, making it the only English word where the digraph oi is pronounced /waɪ/. Doublet of chorus and hora.

noun

1. A group of people who sing together; a company of people who are trained to sing together.
   The church choir practices Thursday nights.
2. (architecture) The part of a church where the choir assembles for song.
3. (Christian angelology) One of the nine ranks or orders of angels.
   Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones are three of the choirs of angels.
4. Set of strings (one per note) for a harpsichord.

verb

1. (intransitive) To sing in concert.
   The great aim of this book is to secure congregational singing, which the churches must come to, at last, after a long interval of choiring. 1859, The Presbyterian Magazine, volume 9, page 423