Entropy (Noun)
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Pronunciation: [‘en-trê-pi]

Definition 1: (1) The measure of energy unavailable for work in a closed system, generally taken to be the degree of systemic disorder; (2) the tendency for all matter and energy in the universe to degenerate and become inert, inactive; (3) the steady deterioration of any system.

Usage 1: The adjective for today’s word is "entropic" and the adverb, "entropically." "Entropy" is a lack of energy while "apathy" is a lack of interest—mental entropy, if you will. Today’s word is used mostly by scientists, especially physicists, who assign it very specific meanings. However, its basic sense is a loss of energy which leads to dissipation, degeneration or that state itself.

Suggested usage: When we speak of "loss of energy," we aren’t speaking of a bad hair day but of something a bit more drastic. Those of us in our ‘golden’ years, for example, feel the entropy of both matter and energy as the years escape. The cultural domination of one nation over another leads to linguistic entropy in the dominated culture. We see this in the loss of the Celtic languages of Great Britain and France and the loss of Native American languages in the US as the speakers fold into the dominant culture. (See our ELR pages).

Etymology: Today’s word came to English via German "Entropie" from Greek en- "in" + Greek trope "turning, change" from trepein "to turn," the word also underlying the name of the beautiful flower, the heliotrope, from Greek helios "sun" and trope "turning," because it always turns to face the sun. "Tropos" came to Latin as tropus "figure of speech, song," whence it was borrowed into English (via French) as trope "a word of phrase chanted or sung in liturgies." While still in French, it also developed into troubadour "strolling minstrel." (A Michigander and frequent visitor to the YD Agora, Katy B., did her part in the struggle against mental entropy by suggesting today’s word.)

—Dr. Language, yourDictionary.com

Entropy brings back very fond memories of college.  We had a salon on Sundays that we called
"Romance of Entropy,"  which later became "Salon Apocalypse."  People would come over and present ideas, read from works in progress, some proformance art, alittle dancing and singing, and, of course, poetry.

Entropy always reminds me first of a long abandoned house.

Sitran

When I studied Thermodynamics my professor explained entropy as the tendancy for systems to become more disordered.

Perhaps that is why when I hear the word entropy, I always think of Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart.

DJ

[quote author=demijohn link=board=todays;num=1057238612;start=0#3 date=07/03/03 at 17:18:43]When I studied Thermodynamics my professor explained entropy as the tendancy for systems to become more disordered.
. . .

DJ

And my professors also said that the world is tending towards a more disordered state.  Then again, that was in the late sixties and early seventies . . .

Things Fall Apart

Don’t forget Yeats’ "Second Coming" from the early 20s. Certainly summed up entropy for me.

- PW