Meaning

noun (often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed

noun a degree in a continuum of size or quantity

noun established customary state (especially of society)

originFrom Middle English ordre, from Old French ordre, ordne, ordene (“order, rank”), from Latin ōrdinem, accusative of ōrdō (“row, rank, regular arrangement”, literally “row of threads in a loom”), from Proto-Italic *ordō (“to arrange”), probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂or-d-, from *h₂er-. Related to Latin ōrdior (“begin”, literally “begin to weave”). In sense “request for purchase”,…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0