disarray

Etymology

The verb is formed from English dis- + array,^[2][3][4][5] after Anglo-Norman desarraier, disaraier and Middle French desaroyer (“to throw into disorder”), recorded from the early 14th century.^[2][6] Barnhart, Etymonline and Klein see it as probably modelled on Old French desareer (“to put in disorder”).^[4][5][7] The Middle English verb is disaraien,^[8] which Merriam-Webster derives through Middle French from the Old French verb, formed from des- and areer (“to prepare, put in order”).^[9] The noun is borrowed from Anglo-Norman disaray, also dissairay, and Middle French desarroi, disorder, trouble, confusion (modern French désarroi),^{[2][6][10][11]} from dis- and arai (“array”).^[2] In French it is recorded once in the early 13th century and then from the late 14th century.^[2] Barnhart instead takes the Middle English noun disarai from the verb, perhaps influenced by French,^[4] and Etymonline from dis- and the noun array, or perhaps from French.^[5] Array itself comes from the same Old French verb areer.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

To break up the formation of an army, to throw into disorder: before 1387, in Trevisa's translation of Higden's Polychronicon, "By þat wile Englische men were begiled, and disarayed hem as it were for to pursewe".^[2][4][8]

Semantic evolution

In the early 15th century the verb took the general sense of throwing anything out of order,^[5] and the noun, disorder or confusion, appears in Chaucer's Parson's Tale: "Þere as þe womman haþe þe maystre, sche makeþ to mekel disaraye".^[8][2][4] Because array also meant dress, the verb came to mean to undress (about 1425, in Lydgate's Troy Book) and, after 1579 in Spenser, to strip someone of something;^[2][8] the noun likewise came to mean disorder of dress in 1590, in Spenser's Faerie Queene.^[2] Johnson (1755) defined the noun as disorder, confusion and the loss of the regular order of battle.^[12] The phrases in disarray and into disarray are now frequent.^[2]

Timeline

• before 1387 – verb, to break up a military formation; to throw into disorder.^[2][8]
• c. 1410 – noun, disorder, confusion, in Chaucer's Parson's Tale.^[2] Barnhart dates it about 1415.^[4]
• c. 1425 – verb, to undress, in Lydgate.^[2][8]
• 1523 – intransitive, to fall into confusion.^[2]
• 1579 – to strip or deprive of something, in Spenser.^[2]
• 1590 – noun, disorder of dress, in Spenser's Faerie Queene.^[2]
• 1678 – intransitive, to undress (obsolete by 1861).^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A state of disorder or confusion, often in the phrase in disarray: After the defeat the rebel army was in disarray.^{[13][14][15][2]}
2. Untidy or incomplete dress; dishabille.^{[13][14][15][2]}

Verb

1. To throw into disorder or confusion: The gust disarrayed the papers on his desk.^{[13][14][15][2]}
2. (archaic) To undress.^{[13][14][15][2]}
3. (archaic) To strip or deprive of something.^[9][2]

Related words

• array

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b c d e f Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
9. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
10. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
12. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
13. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
14. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
15. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster