ordure

[ awr-jer, ‑dyoor ]

noun

1. dung; manure; excrement.

ordure

/ ˈɔːdjʊə /

noun

1. excrement; dung
2. something regarded as being morally offensive

Other Words From

• ordur·ous adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ordure¹

1300–50; Middle English < Old French, equivalent to ord filthy (< Latin horridus horrid ) + -ure -ure

Word History and Origins

Origin of ordure¹

C14: via Old French, from ord dirty, from Latin horridus shaggy

Example Sentences

“Though purple may have symbolized a higher order, it reeked of a lower ordure,” Dr. Grovier writes in his book, “The Art of Colour.”

From New York Times

Government entomologists imported dozens of species of beetles to address several problems, among them fouled pastures, slowing decomposition and disease-carrying flies in ordure.

From New York Times

“It is I, Abigail,” she says, standing there with ordure on her dress, having been booted out of a carriage.

From The New Yorker

“The ordure and other evacuations of the sick, were allowed to remain in the most offensive state imaginable....It was, in fact, a great human slaughter-house.”

From Literature

The alternative — trying to cram all this ordure back into its closet and forget we ever saw it — is, I hope, unthinkable.

From New York Times

Related Words

• dung
• excrement
• poo
• poop
• shit