Ordures

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The discarded refuse or waste substances that are considered filthy or unclean
2. Any materials that are perceived as offensive dirt, often associated with unsanitary conditions
3. Waste matter that is considered dirty and unpleasant, typically found in unsanitary places

Etymology: Ordure began as a word for the filth that horses and cattle left behind, but the root beneath it is the Latin "horridus," meaning "bristling" or "dreadful." The Latin verb "horrere" meant to stand on end, as hair does in fear or cold, and it is the same root that gave English "horrid" and "horror." Old French formed "ord," meaning filthy, from that Latin source, then added the suffix "-ure," which turns an action or process into the thing it produces, much as "a mixture" is what results from mixing. English borrowed the word from Anglo-Norman and Middle French in the Middle English period, with the Old French sense covering dirt, refuse, dung and, figuratively, moral filth. The plural form "ordures" appears in English as the plural of that noun, and it keeps the wide sense of any material regarded as offensive filth, especially where sanitation has broken down.

Synonyms: filth, excrement, waste, dirt, refuse

Antonyms: cleanliness, purity, sanitation, neatness, tidiness