“Quire” (from the Latin “quaterni,” set of four, from “quatro,” four) was originally a term used in Medieval printing, and meant four sheets of paper folded once, which made eight leaves or sixteen pages. Quires were used for pamphlets as well as for “signatures,” or packets of pages, bound in larger books.
- What is the origin of quire?
- What is the meaning of quire?
- What is quire made from?
- What is the difference between choir and quire?
What is the origin of quire?
During the Middle Ages, a quire was a little book or pamphlet made from four folded sheets of parchment. The name stems from the medieval Latin quaternum, "set of four sheets of parchment," and the root quater, "four times."
What is the meaning of quire?
noun. ˈkwī(-ə)r. : a collection of 24 or sometimes 25 sheets of paper of the same size and quality : one twentieth of a ream.
What is quire made from?
Noun. (bookbinding) 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.
What is the difference between choir and quire?
Today, any number of such parcels of paper folded together to form a book may be called a quire. The word quire is derived from the Latin word quaterni, which means four each. A choir is a group of singers that practices and performs together, especially in a church.