ordre

noun

or·​dre ˈȯr-drə 

plural ordres

: a set or suite of short pieces for harpsichord or ensemble in 18th-century France

An ordre often began with several pieces in the style of an allemande, courante and sarabande, but mostly contained descriptive pieces with fanciful titles.

—John Gillespie, Five Centuries of Keyboard Music, 1965

Word History

First Known Use

1883, in the meaning defined above

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