Shambles
/ˈʃæm.bəlz/noun
A scene of complete disorder or chaos; originally, a slaughterhouse or meat market.
Did you know?The word comes from a Latin root for a bench or stall, but in medieval English it became tied to slaughterhouses because meat was sold on market benches in the shambles.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*kem-
“to bend, curve”
Latin
Latin
scamnum
“a bench, stool, or seat”
Old English
OE
sceamel
“a bench or stool”
Middle English
ME
shameles / shambles
“a meat stall or slaughterhouse”
Modern English
English
shambles
“a slaughterhouse; by extension, a scene of utter disorder”
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