order

Definition

Arrangement, disposition, or sequence.

Etymology

From Middle English ordre, from Old French ordre, ordne, ordene (“order, rank”), from Latin ōrdinem, accusative of ōrdō (“row, rank, regular arrangement”, literally “row of threads in a loom”), from Proto-Italic *ordō (“to arrange”), probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂or-d-, from *h₂er-. Related to Latin ōrdior (“begin”, literally “begin to weave”). In sense “request for purchase”, compare bespoke. Doublet of ordo.

Example Sentences

• "put the children in age order"
• "It's arranged in order of frequency"
• "In these situations we find the Genesee slate, the Tully limestone and the upper part of the Hamilton group, each one in its order disappearing beneath the lake level as we proceed southward."