quires

Noun

quire (plural quires)

1. One-twentieth of a ream of paper; a collection of twenty-four or twenty-five sheets of paper of the same size and quality, unfolded or having a single fold.
   • Under the year 1533 we are told that the ream contained twenty quires.1882, James Edwin Thorold Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices in England, volume 4, page 592
2. 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.
3. A book, poem, or pamphlet.

See all 5 meanings of quire