*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of quire

From Middle English quayer, from Anglo-Norman quaier and Old French quaer, from Latin quaternus (“fourfold”), from quater (“four times”). Doublet of cahier.

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

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. · 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

To prepare quires by stitching together leaves of paper.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English quayer, from Anglo-Norman quaier and Old French quaer, from Latin quaternus (“fourfold”), from quater (“four times”). Doublet of cahier.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymid",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "paper"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "wp",
      "args": {
        "1": "Paper +"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "quayer"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English quayer"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "xno",
        "3": "quaier"
      },
      "expansion": "Anglo-Norman quaier"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "quaer"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French quaer"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "quaternus",
        "4": "",
        "5": "fourfold"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin quaternus (“fourfold”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cahier"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of cahier"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "quayer",
      "quayer#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "quaier",
      "quaier#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "quaer",
      "quaer#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "quaternus",
      "quaternus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "quater",
      "quater#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "cahier",
      "cahier#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "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.",
        "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."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To prepare quires by stitching together leaves of paper."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

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”).

verb

Poetic spelling of choir (“to sing in concert”).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
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      "name": "etymid",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "architecture"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "wp",
      "args": {
        "1": "choir"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "wp",
      "args": {
        "1": "choir (architecture)"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "quer"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English quer"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "quer"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French quer"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "chorus"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin chorus"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "χορός",
        "4": "",
        "5": "company of dancers or singers"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek χορός (khorós, “company of dancers or singers”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "choir",
        "3": "chorus",
        "4": "hora"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of choir, chorus, and hora"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "quer",
      "quer#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "quere",
      "quere#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "quer",
      "quer#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "chorus",
      "chorus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "χορός",
      "χορός#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
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      "choir",
      "choir#English"
    ],
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      "chorus",
      "chorus#English"
    ],
    [
      "hora",
      "hora#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
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  "lexical": [
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      "pos": "noun",
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}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for quire →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-cXVpcmU