Order

How to spell order

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce order

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does order mean?

1. nounThe way in which things are arranged in relation to one another, especially a logical or fixed sequence.
2. nounAn authoritative instruction or directive that must be obeyed.
3. nounA request to supply or deliver goods or services, often placed with a business.

Order in a sentence

• The files were stored in alphabetical order for quick reference.

• The manager gave a clear order to evacuate the building.

• The customer placed an order for two coffees and a sandwich.

• Please list the dates in chronological order before you submit the report.

• The soldiers followed every order without hesitation.

• The warehouse shipped the online order within an hour.

Where does order come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin ordo, which literally meant a row or rank, such as a line of threads on a loom or a rank of soldiers, and by extension a regular arrangement or proper sequence. From that physical sense of things lined up neatly grew the broader idea of method, rule, and authority. English took the word in around the thirteenth century through Old French ordre, where it already carried meanings of religious rank, command, and tidy arrangement. The spelling settled with the -er ending in English even though the French and Latin forms used -re and -do, which is why some related words like 'ordinal' and 'ordinary' still show the original 'ord' root clearly. The same Latin ordo lies behind 'coordinate', 'subordinate', and 'ordain', all of which share the underlying notion of putting things in their proper place.

How the word is built

• ord- (from Latin ordo: row, arrangement)
• -er (noun/agent ending in English form)