entropy
noun
[ ˈɛntrəpi ]
• a thermodynamic quantity representing the unavailability of a system's thermal energy for conversion into mechanical work, often interpreted as the degree of disorder or randomness in the system.
• "the second law of thermodynamics says that entropy always increases with time"
• lack of order or predictability; gradual decline into disorder.
• "a marketplace where entropy reigns supreme"
• (in information theory) a logarithmic measure of the rate of transfer of information in a particular message or language.
Origin:
mid 19th century: from en-2 ‘inside’ + Greek tropē ‘transformation’.
