chordal

adjective

chord·​al ˈkȯr-dᵊl 

1

: of, relating to, or suggesting a chord

2

: relating to music characterized more by harmony than by counterpoint

Examples of chordal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Probably because at the time many of the time signatures and chordal progressions that Miles used were over the head of a young guitar player still functioning in the blues and folk idioms. — Steve Baltin, Los Angeles Times, 25 May 2026

Hudson buttressed Al Kooper’s original organ part into a chordal fortress, part of an incendiary performance that surges to peak after peak. — Jon Pareles, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025

The Italian Jewish composer Salamone Rossi set Psalm 112 in Hebrew, in mainly chordal antiphony. — Scott Cantrell, Dallas News, 2 Mar. 2020

It can be strummed, plucked, played for chordal accompaniment or virtuosic runs. — John Adamian, courant.com, 4 Oct. 2019

Leven effortlessly pivoted back and forth between cozying up to Stepner’s line and joining the lower strings’ strong chordal figures, adding a soloistic glimmer on occasion. — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 1 July 2019

Word History

First Known Use

1848, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

chordal

adjective

chord·​al ˈkȯrd-ᵊl 

: of or relating to an anatomical cord (as the notochord or spinal cord)

—used chiefly in combination

perichordal

chordally

-ē 

adverb