Desordre

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A state of confusion and disarray where order is lacking
2. a situation marked by chaos and irregularity, often leading to disturbance
3. the quality of being out of order, resulting in disorderly or untidy conditions

Etymology: The French "désordre" is built from "des-", a prefix that reverses or removes, and "ordre", meaning arrangement. So the word literally means the undoing of an arrangement. "Ordre" comes from Latin "ordo", which meant a row, rank, or series, so disorder is, at root, things that have lost their line. English "disorder" is the same formation, taken from Old French. The prefix "dis-" does the same job in English, so the two words are close relatives that arrived through different routes into their respective languages. The Latin "ordo" also gave English "order" directly, through Old French "ordre", so the pair "order" and "disorder" passed through French together.

Synonyms: disorder, chaos, confusion, mess, disarray

Antonyms: order, organization, arrangement, neatness, tidiness