noun

arrangement

uh-RAYNJ-munt/əˈreɪndʒmənt/

The planned ordering of parts to suit a purpose.

The arrangement of plates and glasses gives the table a neat appearance.

An overhead view of a deliberately ordered dining-table setting for four: evenly spaced plates, neatly aligned cutlery, and matching glasses make the ordered placement of things immediately visible.

Etymology

arOld Frenchto

+rangeOld Frenchto set in a row

+mentFrenchact or result

Setting things in a row developed into putting them in proper order. Arrangement names both that activity and its result, with the idea of settled order extending to a plan or agreement.

In context

The Fallen Crown42:56

They traded a throne for a county. They traded sovereignty for pensions. They traded Tenochtitlan for Guadix, and the arrangement was held for 500 years.

Montezuma's Descendants Became Spanish Nobles. Where Are They Now?

More examples

This arrangement of chairs leaves room for a wheelchair.
The orchestra plays a new arrangement of the song.
They reached an arrangement to share the cost.

Forms

arrangement · arrangements

arrange verb — Put things in a particular order.

Similar words

layout: Emphasizes the physical positions of things within a space.
order: Focuses on the sequence in which things appear.
organization: Emphasizes how parts are grouped and structured into a system.