quire

UK: /kwaɪə/ US: (kwī^ər)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

quire¹  (kwī^ər), n. 

1. Printing a set of 24 uniform sheets of paper.
2. Printing [Bookbinding.] a section of printed leaves in proper sequence after folding;
   gathering.

• Vulgar Latin *quaternum set of four sheets, derivative of Latin quarternī four each
• Middle French quaier
• Middle English quayer 1175–1225

quire²  (kwī^ər), n., v.i., v.t., quired, quir•ing. 

1. [Archaic.] choir.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

quire / kwaɪə/ noun

1. a set of 24 or 25 sheets of paper; a twentieth of a ream
2. four sheets of paper folded once to form a section of 16 pages
3. a set of all the sheets in a book

Etymology: 15th Century quayer, from Old French quaier, from Latin quaternī four at a time, from quater four times

quire / kwaɪə/ noun

1. an obsolete spelling of choir