Chord n.
 1. The string of a musical instrument.
 2. Mus. A combination of tones simultaneously performed, producing more or less perfect harmony, as, the common chord.
 3. Geom. A right line uniting the extremities of the arc of a circle or curve.
 4. Anat. A cord. See Cord, n., 4.
 5. Engin. The upper or lower part of a truss, usually horizontal, resisting compression or tension.
 Accidental, Common, ∧ Vocal chords. See under Accidental, Common, and Vocal.
 Chord of an arch. See Illust. of Arch.
 Chord of curvature, a chord drawn from any point of a curve, in the circle of curvature for that point.
 Scale of chords. See Scale.
 Cur·va·ture n.
 1. The act of curving, or the state of being bent or curved; a curving or bending, normal or abnormal, as of a line or surface from a rectilinear direction; a bend; a curve.
    The elegant curvature of their fronds.   --Darwin.
 2. Math. The amount of degree of bending of a mathematical curve, or the tendency at any point to depart from a tangent drawn to the curve at that point.
 Aberrancy of curvature Geom., the deviation of a curve from a circular form.
 Absolute curvature. See under Absolute.
 Angle of curvature Geom., one that expresses the amount of curvature of a curve.
 Chord of curvature. See under Chord.
 Circle of curvature. See Osculating circle of a curve, under Circle.
 Curvature of the spine Med., an abnormal curving of the spine, especially in a lateral direction.
 Radius of curvature, the radius of the circle of curvature, or osculatory circle, at any point of a curve.
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