Piggledy

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. Lying in a jumbled, disorderly mess with nothing arranged neatly or in its proper place
2. Scattered about haphazardly in a confused heap, as if thrown together without any order
3. Describing things that are muddled and out of order, in complete and untidy confusion

Etymology: "Piggledy" rarely appears alone. It mostly survives as the second half of "higgledy-piggledy," a rhyming pair meaning things in complete disorder. The pair follows a common English pattern of doubling sounds for emphasis, as in "helter-skelter" and "hurly-burly," so the rhyme carries much of the meaning. Its origin is uncertain. Standard references do not identify a securely attested source word for "piggledy," and the tempting link to "pig," as in a pen of pigs scattering in confusion, is a plausible-sounding guess rather than a documented root. The more reliable story is the construction itself: a playful, unexplained pair that English uses to describe things jumbled every which way.