Chor German · revision 35852

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 830, Tatian|origins=grc χορός}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /koːr/, [koːɐ̯], [kɔɐ̯]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Chor''' ''m'' (genitive Chores or Chors, plural Chöre)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|kōr]], [[inh|goh|chōr]], [[bor|la|chorus|t=dance; band of singers]], from [[grc|χορός|tr=khorós]], borrowed in the 9th century.^(Kluge 2011|172)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DFWB) In ancient Greece the word named the dancing floor and a group of dancers, then the song and dance performed for the gods.^(Kluge 2011|172)^(Pfeifer 1993) Duden calls the Greek word not securely explained and suggests a link with [[ine-pro|*ǵʰer-|t=to grasp, enclose]], the root of [[Garten]], with the original sense “enclosed dancing floor”.^(Duden 7 2020|184) The same word is [[nl|koor]], [[fr|chœur]] and [[en|chorus]].^(Kluge 2011|172)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''chōr'' appears in Tatian's gospel harmony of about 830, where the elder son hears ''sang inti chor'' “song and choral singing”, and in the glosses.^(DWB2)^(Schützeichel 2012)^(Köbler AHD) It meant the common singing of the clergy in church.^(Duden 7 2020|184)^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the singers the word passed in the church to the place where they stood before the altar, and then to the part of the church reserved for the clergy, which Pfeifer finds in a 12th-century manuscript.^(Kluge 2011|172)^(Pfeifer 1993) In Middle High German it meant both the singers and that part of the building, and also the body of canons who met there.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Köbler MHD) Already in Middle High German it was used for secular singers too, and later for a group of similar instruments, for the chorus of Greek tragedy and for any singing and dancing group on stage.^(Paul 2002)^(DFWB)

+

+ Under the influence of French ''corps'' the word was also used, often as a neuter, for any band or crowd of people, as in Goethe's ''ein ganzes Chor von hunderttausend Narren''.^(Paul 2002)^(DWB|2, 617) The derivatives include [[Choral]] (1566), shortened from ''Choralgesang'', Latin ''cantus choralis'', and [[Choreographie]], which goes back to the older sense “dance”.^(Paul 2002)^(Kluge 2011|172)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 830 – Old High German ''chōr'' in Tatian.^(DWB2)^(Köbler AHD)

+ * 1060–1080 – Middle High German ''kōr'' in the Genesis.^(Köbler MHD)

+ * 12th century – First record for the part of the church, in a manuscript.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 1566 – First record of ''Choral''.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 18th century – First record of ''Chorist''.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 19th century – ''Choreograph'' and ''Choreographie'' are formed.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|choir]], a group of people who sing together: ''Sie singt seit Jahren im Kirchenchor.'';^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary) ''im Chor'', all together, in unison.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A group of similar instruments in an orchestra, or their players: ''ein Chor von Posaunen''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(theatre)'' The [[m|en|chorus]], a group of actors who comment on the action, as in ancient tragedy.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # A composition for a choir; singing by a choir.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(music)'' A set of strings tuned to the same pitch, as on a lute; the pipes of a mixture stop of an organ that belong to one key.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(architecture)'' The choir of a church, the part with the high altar, usually facing east: ''ein romanischer Chor''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The place for the singers in the organ [[m|en|gallery]].^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(regional, derogatory; neuter)'' A rabble.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Choral]]

+ * [[Chorist]]

+ * [[Chorgestühl]]

+ * [[Chorherr]]

+ * [[Kirchenchor]]

+ * [[Männerchor]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Choreographie]]

+ * [[en|choir]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Chor'' is masculine, but the church choir and the organ loft were often neuter, and Adelung records the neuter for groups of singers in Upper Saxony; the neuter survives in the derogatory regional sense “rabble”.^(Adelung 1793)^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}