disorder

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /dɪˈsɔː.də/, US /dɪˈsɔːr.dɚ/^[1]

Etymology

The verb is from English dis- + order,^[2][3][4] replacing earlier disordeine (14th century), which was borrowed from Old French desordener (“to throw into disorder”),^[2][5][4] from Medieval Latin disordināre, from Latin dis- and ōrdināre (“to order, regulate”) (see ordain),^[2][4][6] from ōrdō (“row, rank, arrangement”).^[4] The noun was formed from the verb on the pattern of French désordre.^[2][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

To throw into confusion: 1477 in the OED,^[8] in Caxton according to Etymonline;^[4] Barnhart dates it 1503.^[2] The earlier disordeine is from about 1300 in Barnhart, the mid-14th century in Etymonline.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The noun meant a lack of regular arrangement in the 1520s^[4] (1530 in Palsgrave's Lesclarcissement).^[2][8] A tumult or breach of public order, a riot, is from 1532,^[8] and an irregularity of conduct, a misdemeanour, from 1581.^[8] Disturbance of mind is from 1595 but obsolete.^[8] A disturbance of the body or mind, an ailment, is by 1704,^[4][8] the sense in modern medical terms for illnesses.^[9][10] Disorderly is from the 17th century.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1300 – disordeine, the earlier verb.^[2]
• 1477 – the verb disorder.^[8]
• 1530 – the noun, lack of order.^[8][2]
• 1532 – a public disturbance.^[8]
• 1704 – an ailment.^[4][8]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A lack of order or regular arrangement; confusion.
2. A disturbance of public order or peace.
3. An ailment that affects the working of the body or mind.

Verb

1. To throw into confusion or disarray.
2. To upset the normal physical or mental health of.

Word family

• disorderly

Related words

• order
• ordain
• inordinate

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
10. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins