order

—orderable, adj. —orderer, n. —orderless, adj.

/awr"deuhr/, n.

1. an authoritative direction or instruction; command; mandate.

2. a command of a court or judge.

3. a command or notice issued by a military organization or a military commander to troops, sailors, etc.

4. the disposition of things following one after another, as in space or time; succession or sequence: The names were listed in alphabetical order.

5. a condition in which each thing is properly disposed with reference to other things and to its purpose; methodical or harmonious arrangement: You must try to give order to your life.

6. formal disposition or array: the order of the troops.

7. proper, satisfactory, or working condition.

8. state or condition generally: His financial affairs were in good order.

9. conformity or obedience to law or established authority; absence of disturbance, riot, revolt, unruliness, etc.: A police officer was there to maintain order.

10. customary mode of procedure; established practice or usage.

11. the customary or prescribed mode of proceeding in debates or the like, or in the conduct of deliberative or legislative bodies, public meetings, etc.: parliamentary rules of order.

12. prevailing course or arrangement of things; established system or regime: The old order is changing.

13. conformity to this.

14. a direction or commission to make, provide, or furnish something: The salesclerk will take your order.

15. a quantity of goods or items purchased or sold: The druggist is sending the order right over.

16. Gram.

a. the arrangement of the elements of a construction in a particular sequence, as the placing of John before the verb and of George after it in John saw George.

b. the hierarchy of grammatical rules applying to a construction.

c. the rank of immediate constituents.

17. any of the nine grades of angels in medieval angelology. Cf. angel (def. 1).

18. Math.

a. degree, as in algebra.

b. the number of rows or columns of a square matrix or determinant.

c. the number of times a function has been differentiated to produce a given derivative: a second order derivative.

d. the order of the highest derivative appearing in a given differential equation: d²y/dx² + 3y (dy/dx) - 6 = 0 is a differential equation of order two.

e. the number of elements of a given group.

f. the smallest positive integer such that a given element in a group raised to that integer equals the identity.

g. the least positive integer n such that permuting a given set n times under a given permutation results in the set in its original form.

19. any class, kind, or sort, as of persons or things, distinguished from others by nature or character: talents of a high order.

20. Biol. the usual major subdivision of a class or subclass in the classification of organisms, consisting of several families.

21. a rank, grade, or class of persons in a community.

22. a group or body of persons of the same profession, occupation, or pursuits: the clerical order.

23. a body or society of persons living by common consent under the same religious, moral, or social regulations.

24. Eccles. any of the degrees or grades of clerical office. Cf. major order, minor order.

25. a monastic society or fraternity: the Franciscan order.

26. a written direction to pay money or deliver goods, given by a person legally entitled to dispose of it: delivery order; exchange order.

27. Archit.

a. any arrangement of columns with an entablature.

b. any of five such arrangements typical of classical architecture, including the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders invented by the Greeks and adapted by the Romans, the Tuscan order, invented by the Romans, and the Composite order, first named during the Renaissance.

c. any of several concentric rings composing an arch, esp. when each projects beyond the one below. See illus. under tympanum.

28. orders, the rank or status of an ordained Christian minister.

29. Usually, orders. the rite or sacrament of ordination.

30. a prescribed form of divine service or of administration of a rite or ceremony.

31. the service itself.

32. the visible structures essential or desirable to the nature of the church, involving esp. ministry, polity, and sacraments.

33. a society or fraternity of knights, of combined military and monastic character, as, in the Middle Ages, the Knights Templars.

34. a modern organization or society more or less resembling the knightly orders: fraternal orders.

35. (cap.) Brit.

a. a special honor or rank conferred by a sovereign upon a person for distinguished achievement.

b. the insignia worn by such persons.

36. Chiefly Brit. a pass for admission to a theater, museum, or the like.

37. a tall order, a very difficult or formidable task, requirement, or demand: Getting the crop harvested with so few hands to help was a tall order. Also, a large order.

38. call to order, to begin (a meeting): The meeting was called to order at 3 o'clock.

39. in order,

a. fitting; appropriate: It appears that an apology is in order.

b. in a state of proper arrangement, preparation, or readiness: Everything is in order for the departure.

c. correct according to the rules of parliamentary procedure: Questions from the floor are now in order.

40. in order that, so that; to the end that: We ought to leave early in order that we may not miss the train.

41. in order to, as a means to; with the purpose of: She worked summers in order to save money for college.

42. in short order, with promptness or speed; rapidly: The merchandise arrived in short order.

43. on order, ordered but not yet received: We're out of stock in that item, but it's on order.

44. on the order of,

a. resembling to some extent; like: I would like a dress on the order of the one in the window.

b. approximately; about: On the order of 100,000 people attended the rally.

45. out of order,

a. inappropriate; unsuitable: His remark was certainly out of order.

b. not operating properly; in disrepair: The air conditioner is out of order again.

c. incorrect according to the rules of parliamentary procedure: The chairwoman told him that he was out of order.

46. to order, according to one's individual requirements or instructions: a suit made to order; carpeting cut to order.

v.t.

47. to give an order, direction, or command to: The infantry divisions were ordered to advance.

48. to direct or command to go or come as specified: to order a person out of one's house.

49. to prescribe: The doctor ordered rest for the patient.

50. to direct to be made, supplied, or furnished: to order a copy of a book.

51. to regulate, conduct, or manage: to order one's life for greater leisure.

52. to arrange methodically or suitably: to order chessmen for a game.

53. Math. to arrange (the elements of a set) so that if one element precedes another, it cannot be preceded by the other or by elements that the other precedes.

54. to ordain, as God or fate does.

55. to invest with clerical rank or authority.

v.i.

56. to give an order or issue orders: I wish to order, but the waiter is busy.

[1175-1225; ME ordre (n.), ordren (v., deriv. of the n.) < OF ordre (n.) < L ordin- (s. of ordo) row, rank, regular arrangement]

Syn. 1. ukase, ordinance, prescription, decree, injunction. 5. regularity. 21. degree. 23. fraternity, community. 47. instruct, bid, require, ordain. See direct. 51. run, operate, adjust, arrange, systematize.

* * *

I

In Classical architecture, any of several styles defined by the particular type of column, base, capital, and entablature they use.

There are five major orders: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian (all developed in Greece), and Tuscan and Composite (developed in Rome). The form of the capital is an order's most distinguishing characteristic. Both the Doric and Ionic orders originated in wooden temples. The Doric is squat and simple. The Ionic, distinguished by the scrolls, or volutes, on its capital, resembles a capital I. The Corinthian capital is more ornate, with carved acanthus leaves and scrolls. The Romans modified the Greek orders to produce the Tuscan (a simplified form of the Doric) and Composite (a combination of the Ionic and Corinthian) orders. See also colossal order.

II

(as used in expressions)

Calatrava Order of

colossal order

giant order

Garter The Most Noble Order of the

Order of the Legion of Honour

money order

order in council

rules of order

pecking order

Teutonic Order

* * *

▪ architecture

also called  order of architecture 

      in any of several styles of classical or Neoclassical architecture that are defined by the particular type of column and entablature they use as a basic unit. A column consists of a shaft together with its base and its capital. The column supports a section of an entablature, which constitutes the upper horizontal part of a classical building and is itself composed of (from bottom to top) an architrave, frieze, and cornice. The form of the capital is the most distinguishing characteristic of a particular order. There are five major orders: Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Tuscan, and Composite.

 There are many separate elements that make up a complete column and entablature. (See the Figure—>.) At the bottom of the column is the stylobate; this is a continuous flat pavement on which a row of columns is supported. Rising out of the stylobate is the plinth, a square or circular block that is the lowest part of the base. Atop the plinth and forming the remainder of the base are one or more circular moldings that have varying profiles; these may include a torus (a convex molding that is semicircular in profile), a scotia (with a concave profile), and one or more fillets (fillet), or narrow bands.

      The shaft, which rests upon the base, is a long, narrow, vertical cylinder that in some orders is articulated with fluting (fluting and reeding) (vertical grooves). The shaft may also taper inward slightly so that it is wider at the bottom than at the top.

      Atop the shaft is the capital, which serves to concentrate the weight of the entablature on the shaft and also acts as an aesthetic transition between those two elements. In its simplest form (the Doric), the capital consists (in ascending order) of three parts; the necking, which is a continuation of the shaft but which is set off from it visually by one or more narrow grooves; the echinus, a circular block that bulges outward at its uppermost portion in order to better support the abacus; and the abacus itself, a square block that directly supports the entablature above and transmits its weight to the rest of the column below.

      The entablature is composed of three horizontal sections that are visually separated from each other by moldings and bands. The three parts of the entablature (in ascending order) are called the architrave, frieze, and cornice.

      The unit used in the measurement of columns is the diameter of the shaft at the base; thus, a column may be described as being eight (lower) diameters high.

      Ancient Greek architecture developed two distinct orders, the Doric and the Ionic, together with a third (Corinthian) capital, which, with modifications, were adopted by the Romans in the 1st century BC and have been used ever since in Western architecture.

      The Doric order is characterized by a slightly tapered column that is the most squat of all the orders, measuring in height (including the capital) only about four to eight lower diameters. The Greek forms of the Doric order have no individual base and instead rest directly on the stylobate, although subsequent forms of Doric frequently were given a conventional plinth-and-torus base. The Doric shaft is channeled with 20 shallow flutes. The capital, as stated before, consists of a simple necking; a spreading, convex echinus; and a square abacus. The frieze section of the Doric entablature is distinctive. It is composed of projecting triglyphs (units each consisting of three vertical bands separated by grooves) that alternate with receding square panels, called metopes, that may be either plain or carved with sculptured reliefs. The Roman forms of the Doric order have smaller proportions and appear lighter and more graceful than their Greek counterparts.

      The Ionic order differs from the Doric in having more flutes on its shaft and in the scrolls, or volutes, that droop over the front and rear portions of the echinus in the capital. The echinus itself is carved with an egg-and-dart motif. The height of the entire Ionic order—column, base, capital, and entablature— is nine lower diameters. The base of the column has two tori (convex moldings) separated by a scotia. The shaft, which is eight lower diameters high, has 24 flutes. On the entablature, the architrave is usually made up of three stepped fasciae (bands). The frieze lacks the Doric triglyph and metope, and hence this area can hold a continuous band of carved ornament, such as figural groups.

      The Corinthian order is the most elegant of the five orders. Its distinguishing characteristic is the striking capital, which is carved with two staggered rows of sylized acanthus leaves and four scrolls. The shaft has 24 sharp-edged flutes, while the column is 10 diameters high.

      The Tuscan order is a Roman adaptation of the Doric. The Tuscan has an unfluted shaft and a simple echinus-abacus capital. It is similar in proportion and profile to the Roman Doric but is much plainer. The column is seven diameters high. This order is the most solid in appearance of all the orders.

      The Composite order, which was not ranked as a separate order until the Renaissance, is a late Roman development of the Corinthian. It is called Composite because its capital is composed of Ionic volutes and Corinthian acanthus-leaf decoration. The column is 10 diameters high.

      The Doric and Ionic orders originated nearly simultaneously on opposite shores of the Aegean Sea; the Doric on the Greek mainland and the Ionic in the Greek cities of Asia Minor. (The volutes of the Ionic capital were adapted from Phoenician and Egyptian capital designs.) The Doric may be considered the earlier order of the two only in its developed form. Both orders originated in temples constructed out of wood. The earliest well-preserved example of Doric architecture is the Temple of Hera at Olympia, built soon after 600 BC. From these beginnings, the evolution of the stone Doric column can be traced in architectural remains in Greece, Sicily, and southern Italy, where the Doric was to remain the chief order for monumental buildings for the next eight centuries.

      The Greeks as well as the Romans regarded the Corinthian as only a variant capital to be substituted for the Ionic. The first known use of a Corinthian capital on the outside of a building is that of the choragic Monument of Lysicrates (Athens, 335/334 BC). The Corinthian was raised to the rank of an order by the 1st-century-BC Roman writer and architect Vitruvius.

      The Romans adopted the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders and modified them to produce the Tuscan order, which is a simplified form of the Doric, and the Composite order, which is a combination of the Ionic and Corinthian orders. Another Roman innovation was the superposed order; (superposed order) when columns adorned several successive stories of a building, they were normally of different orders, in an ascending sequence from heaviest to most slender. Thus columns of the Doric order were assigned to the ground floor of a building, Ionic ones to the middle story, and Corinthian or Composite ones to the top story. To avoid the complications of separate orders for each story, the architects of the Renaissance invented the colossal order, which is composed of columns extending the height of two or more stories of a building.

       Vitruvius was the only ancient Greek or Roman writer on architecture whose works survived the Middle Ages. When his handbook for Roman architects, De architectura, was rediscovered in the early 15th century, Vitruvius was at once hailed as the authority on classical architecture. Based on his writings, Italian architects of the Renaissance and Baroque periods developed an aesthetic canon that established rules for superposing the classical orders. The architects also laid down rules for the proportions of the orders and their parts down to the most minute members. The exact proportional dimensions of every element of an order was specified, so that, given the diameter of the column or any other dimension, the entire order and all of its separate elements could be reconstructed through routine calculations. The rules were thus carried to extravagant lengths that were undreamed of by the Greeks and rarely observed by the Romans.

      Succeeding artistic periods witnessed revivals of the archeologically “correct” use of the orders, though many architects continued to use the various orders with the utmost freedom. In Modernist architecture of the 20th century, the orders have tended to pass from use altogether as superfluous ornament, their structural functions having been taken over by columns and piers made of steel or reinforced concrete.

* * *