I. ˈȯrdər, ˈȯ(ə)də(r noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French ordre, order, from Old French ordene, ordne, ordre, from Medieval Latin & Latin; Medieval Latin ordin-, ordo order (in ecclesiastical senses), from Latin (in other senses); akin to Latin ordiri to lay the warp, begin to weave, begin, and perhaps to Greek arariskein to fit together, fasten, suit — more at arm
1.
a.
(1) : one of the nine grades of angels in medieval theology ; also : an analogous class of supernatural beings
an order of spirits who abuse and persecute those they possess — Ralph Linton
(2) sometimes capitalized : any of the several grades of the Christian ministry — see major order , minor order
(3) orders plural : the office and dignity of a person in the Christian ministry
in deacon's orders
(4) : ordination — usually used in plural
received orders
(5) often capitalized : a ritually prescribed form of service (as for the administration of a sacrament)
the order of baptism
b.
(1) : a religious body typically an aggregate of separate communities living under a distinctive rule, discipline, or constitution : a monastic brotherhood or society
(2) : any of several knightly fraternities bound by a discipline both religious and military and typically originating in the era of the crusades
(3) : a society patterned on the knightly fraternities of the middle ages but typically founded by a sovereign, a prince, or a national legislature for the conferring of honorary distinction
(4) : the badge, medal, or other insignia of such a society ; also : a military decoration for bravery or distinguished service
(5) : a fraternal society or other association of private character
the Masonic Order
the Order of Gregg Artists is the largest and best-known shorthand organization in the world — Florence E. Ulrich
a secret order of conspirators
c.
(1) : one of the classes comprising a hierarchical or stratified society : a social class or grouping
there are two main orders, the natural aristocracy and the common people — C.J.Friedrich
— often used in the phrases higher orders, lower orders
the lower orders of whites were all but beyond the reach of democracy — Van Wyck Brooks
(2) : a narrowly delimited group of persons having a common interest and forming a distinct class by profession, special privileges, or other common interests
the first two orders, the clergy and the nobility — D.W.S.Lidderdale
the order of baronets
(3) : the totality of social, political, and cultural arrangements prevailing in a particular place and time : a particular sociopolitical system
inclined to oppose radical changes in the established order — American Guide Series: Maine
symbols of the decaying orders they headed — Claude Pepper
the ceremonies are part of the traditional order — British Book News
d.
(1) archaic : a rank, row, or series of objects
(2) : level or degree of importance, quality, or value : rank
a world power of the first order — S.L.Sharp
the productions booked for these communities were of a low order — American Guide Series: Michigan
realism of the highest order — A.L.Guérard
(3) : a category, type, class, or kind of thing of distinctive character or rank
there is an order or mind which is perpetually modern — Edith Hamilton
cultivated after his fashion the order of verse — Times Literary Supplement
in the same order of ideas — O.G.Frazer
in emergencies of this order — R.B.Westerfield
revolutions are a different order of events — John Strachey
presents a problem of the severest order — J.B.Gallagher
e.
(1) : a style of building
(2) : a type of column and entablature that with its forms, proportions, and mode of decoration is the unit of a style
Corinthian order
Doric order
(3) : a columnar treatment based on the classic orders
f.
(1) : arrangement of objects in position or of events in time
(2) : the number of times differentiation is applied successively
derivatives of higher order
(3) : the order of the highest order derivative in a differential equation
(4) : degree 11a, 11b
(5) : the number of rows and columns in a matrix
the order of a matrix with 2 rows and 3 columns is 2 by 3
(6) : order of magnitude 2
g.
(1) : degree or grade in a series based on size or quantity
lines, of the order of one third of an inch in diameter — R.E.Coker
(2) : general or approximate size, quantity, or level of magnitude or a figure indicative thereof
a population of the order of 40,000 — W.G.East
all explosions were divided into two general types — low order and high — H.A.Holsinger
at a date of the order of 50,000 years ago — R.C.Murphy
the time period is of the order of a thousand years — A.N.Whitehead
h. : a category of taxonomic classification ranking above the family and below the class and in botany characteristically having a name ending in -ales (as Rosales) and often being made up of several families — see natural order
i. : position in a sequence of interference or diffraction phenomena
a grating spectrum of the third order
j.
(1) : a sequential arrangement of mathematical elements
(2) : a degree, type, level, or rank within an order
a predicate of a higher order
k. : the broadest category in soil classification
zonal order
intrazonal order
l. : a class of consonants whose common characteristic is that they have the same place of articulation
the bilabials p, b, m belong to the same order
2.
a.
(1) : the manner in which one thing succeeds another : sequence or succession in space or time
let me tell of these events in their order
were issued in a strange order — Edward Sackville-West & Desmond Shawe-Taylor
(2) : sequence in respect of value, importance, or some other criterion
good to know the goods in their order — R.M.Hutchins
osmium, iridium and platinum in that order are the three heaviest metals known — W.R.Jones
necessary to establish some order of importance — G.P.Wibberley
the children came in proper order , first the oldest, then their juniors
(3) : the sequence of constituents as a device for conveying meaning (as in Cain [subject] killed [predicate] Abel [object])
b.
(1) : the totality of arrangements composing some sphere of action or being : a system functioning according to some definite laws or rules
the contemporary economic order
our political order
should take the lead in reconstructing the social order — Paul Woodring
whose loyalty to the English order of things was suspect — American Guide Series: Michigan
also : a prevailing mode, style, or trend
the new order in literary criticism
(2) obsolete : customary mode of procedure : established usage
(3) : the customary, established, or prescribed mode of procedure in debate or other business (as of a deliberative or legislative body or a public meeting)
rose to a point of order
a book on the rules of order
(4) : the condition of being in conformity with such a mode of procedure — usually used in the phrases in order, out of order
your motion is out of order
the amendment was inconsistent with the resolution and hence out of order — Walter Goodman
(5) : the attentive, orderly, or decorous behavior or state appropriate to the conduct of deliberative or legislative business
will the meeting please come to order
— compare call to order
c.
(1) : the manner in which something is ordered : arrangement , formation , array
the troops retired in good order
in his order of battle his center … was pushed forward — Tom Wintringham
(2) : regular or harmonious arrangement or disposition : system , pattern , method
there was a feminine order in the arrangement — Jean Stafford
a world whose lack of order … must inspire them with a certain fear — Herbert Read
the stuff of our lives is … a tangled web, yet in the end there is order — Havelock Ellis
(3) : a condition in which everything is so arranged as to play its proper part
a lover of order
values rank and station and order above other things in politics — R.G.F.Robinson
the sense of order we associate with the medieval world — Wallace Fowlie
(4) : the rule of law or proper authority : freedom from disturbance : public quiet
restore order in a lawless community
the victory of order … must be assured at all costs — Times Literary Supplement
(5) archaic : provision or disposition to achieve some end — usually used in the phrase take order
(6) : state or condition with regard to quality, functioning, or repair
a square grand piano in good order — D.D.Martin
found the equipment in the worst possible order
erect and maintain in good order a gate — Farmer's Weekly (South Africa)
(7) : a sound, proper, orderly, or functioning condition
the finances and plans of the … institute have been set in order — W.G.Penfield
the telephone is out of order
had his place put in order — Everett Lloyd
his passport is not in order
(8) : the condition of being proper, appropriate, or required by the circumstances — used in the phrases in order, out of order
this retraction is in order — Alexander MacDonald
your suggestion is completely out of order
technically, his conviction was in order — S.H.Adams
nominations for president are now in order
(9) : order arms
d. : a condition of the tobacco leaf in the curing process in which it contains sufficient moisture to be pliable and handled readily without breaking
3.
a.
(1) : a rule or regulation made by a competent authority
the Board of Aldermen will also be asked to adopt an order — Springfield (Massachusetts) Daily News
(2) : an authoritative mandate usually from a superior to a subordinate : injunction , instruction
refusal to recognize the authority of the emperor amounted to a refusal to take orders — Clyde Pharr
an executive order
under order to sail for home
(3) : a written or oral directive from a senior military or naval officer to a junior telling him what to do but giving him certain freedom of action in complying
b.
(1) : a direction by which the payee or holder of negotiable paper prescribes to whom payment shall be made
(2) : a commission to purchase, sell, or supply goods : a direction in writing to furnish supplies
orders from the seven canners had been too small — Pacific Fisherman
engines built to the order of the Ministry of Supply — O.S.Nock
3. : a formal written authorization to deliver materials, to perform work, or to do both
c. : a direction or pass to give admittance (as to a building or entertainment)
d.
(1) : a command or direction of a court
(2) : a direction of a judge or court entered in writing and not entered in a judgment or decree
4.
a.
(1) : the merchandise, goods, or items ordered as a purchase
should receive your order promptly — Sarah Taintor & Kate Monro
the order arrived in good condition
(2) : a serving of food ordered in a public eating place
bring me my order right away
one order of mashed potatoes
also : an oral or written direction to serve such food
the waitress will take your order now
b. : an assigned or requested undertaking
this is a large order , which would seem to require a much longer book — K.E.Poole
trying to move loose horses through snow was almost as tall an order — H.L.Davis
•
- in order that
- in order to
- on the order of
- to order
[s]order.jpg[/s] [
order 1e: 1 Corinthian, 2 Doric, 3 Ionic
]
II. verb
( ordered ; ordered ; ordering -d(ə)riŋ ; orders )
Etymology: Middle English ordren, from ordre, n.
transitive verb
1.
a.
(1) : to arrange or dispose according to some plan or with reference to some end : put in a particular order : arrange in a series or sequence
orders the arts and sciences according to their value in his Christian system — H.O.Taylor
(2) archaic : to draw up in battle array : array , marshal
(3) : to put in order : make neat or orderly
ordered her dress — D.C.Peattie
b. : to manage by rule or regulation
ordered his affairs to the tempo of an earlier day — American Guide Series: Ind.
the marshal controlled and ordered the hall — Doris M. Stenton
unwilling and unable to order their economy in effective fashion — E.S.Furniss b. 1918
2. : to admit to holy orders
3.
a. : to give orders to : command
ordered the troops to advance
: require or direct (something) to be done
dissolving the Diet and ordering new elections — F.A.Ogg & Harold Zink
b. : to ordain by fate : destine
it was so ordered of God
c. : to command to go or come to a specified place
was ordered to a distant post
ordered home for misbehavior
d. : to give an order for : secure by an order
having forgotten to order his chauffeur — Cleveland Amory
order a meal
order groceries
e. : to give a prescription of : prescribe
the doctor ordered rest and exercise
4. dialect chiefly England
a. : to take a particular course with : deal with
b. : to make ready : prepare
c. : to bring (a person) into order
5. : to bring (tobacco leaf) into order
intransitive verb
1. : to bring about order : regulate , direct
a renascence of the spirit that orders and controls — H.G.Wells
2.
a. : to issue commands : command
your turn to order next week
b. : to give or place an order
be sure to order before it's too late
3. : to become the object of an order
slacks are ordering with renewed strength — Women's Wear Daily
Synonyms:
order , arrange , marshal , organize , systematize , methodize can mean to put (a number of things) in their proper places or into a fit place, especially in an interrelation or organization. order in the sense of to put in a given sequence is somewhat archaic; in more general current use it means to put into an interrelationship thought of as reasoned or effective or to dispose so that system is achieved or confusion or friction is eliminated
the ceremony is not well ordered; in fact there is here no single ceremony but a group of separate little rituals — C.L.Jones
life as it came to him without conscious ordering — Virginia Woolf
free to order their affairs as they choose — W.L.Sperry
trees, lawns, terraces, rock gardens, paved walks, and many benches, all cleverly ordered in harmonious composition — American Guide Series: New York City
arrange is usually used to apply to a putting of things in a proper, fit, or pleasing sequence or relationship, often by straightening up or adjusting to fixed circumstantial things, sometimes, however, suggesting contrivance or manipulation of things to a given end
arrange the articles on a desk
each of us arranges the world according to his own notion of the fitness of things — Joseph Conrad
made his bed and arranged his room — Willa Cather
the distressingly difficult task of arranging a peaceful world — K.F.Mather
arrange things so that Father could go to Santa Fe — Mary Austin
marshal implies an assembling and arranging (of things, or sometimes diverse elements of a thing) especially in preparation for or to facilitate a particular move or operation
resources of the government have been marshaled in support of science — A.T.Waterman
marshals his facts and arguments with lucidity and detachment — Times Literary Supplement
marshaled the evidence in his client's behalf — H.D.Hazeltine
marshal a case before going into court
organize implies an arrangement in which several or many parts function in smooth interrelation
our most successful historians … can organize their materials clearly and cogently — W.G.Carleton
man, as a highly organized whole — H.J.Muller
organized the hospital work of the Crimean war — G.B.Shaw
the daily routine was gradually organized after a fashion — André Maurois
systematize implies arrangement according to a predetermined scheme
if grammar was to become a rational science, it had to systematize itself through principles of logic — H.O.Taylor
everything was systematized to an extraordinary extent. There was a way for doing everything, or rather sixteen, or thirty-six, or some other consecrated number of ways, each distinct and defined and each with a name — Laurence Binyon
methodize differs from systematize in suggesting more the imposition of orderly procedure than a fixed scheme
modern criticism has developed a number of specialized procedures of its own and methodized them, sometimes on the analogy of scientific procedure — S.E.Hyman
Synonym: see in addition command .
III. noun
1. : the number of elements in a finite mathematical group
2. : a class of mutually exclusive linguistic forms any one of which may occur in a fixed definable position in the permitted sequence of items forming a word