SHAMBLES


Meaning of SHAMBLES in English

transcription, транскрипция: [ ˈsham-bəlz ]

noun plural but singular or plural in construction

Etymology: Middle English shameles, plural of schamel vendor's table, footstool, from Old English sceamol stool, from Latin scamillum, diminutive of scamnum stool, bench; perhaps akin to Sanskrit skambha pillar

Date: 15th century

1. archaic : a meat market

2. : slaughterhouse

3.

a. : a place of mass slaughter or bloodshed

the battlefield became a shambles

b. : a scene or a state of great destruction : wreckage

the city was a shambles after the bombing

c.

(1) : a scene or a state of great disorder or confusion

an economy in shambles

(2) : great confusion : mess

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.