Original order

How it is used

The order received by an archive may already be disturbed; distinguish original arrangement from accidental disorder.

Example sentences

1. Preserving original order kept incoming letters linked to the office's replies.

   Arrangement retains evidence of how the office worked.

2. The archivist reconstructed original order using old file numbers.

   Internal references can help recover a disrupted sequence.

Common collocations

• preserve original order
• reconstruct original order

Related terms

• archiveA collection of historical records kept for long-term use, or the building or institution where such records are stored and made available to researchers.
• provenanceThe origin of a document or object and the record of who has owned or kept it since it was made, used to judge whether it is genuine and lawfully held.

More terms: Sources and Archives

• primary source
• secondary source
• manuscript
• bias
• census
• chronicle
• source criticism
• oral history
• inscription
• archivist
• palaeography
• diplomatics