Main Entry:

sham·bles

Pronunciation:

\ˈsham-bəlz\

Function:

noun plural but singular or plural in construction

Etymology:

Middle English shameles, plural of schamel vendor's table, footstool, from Old English sceamol stool, from Latin scamillum, diminutive of scamnum stool, bench; perhaps akin to Sanskrit skambha pillar

Date:

15th century

1archaic : a meat market2: slaughterhouse3 a: a place of mass slaughter or bloodshed <the battlefield became a shambles> b: a scene or a state of great destruction : wreckage <the city was a shambles after the bombing> c (1): a scene or a state of great disorder or confusion <an economy in shambles> (2): great confusion : mess