Definition of unscramble

The word "unscramble" has its roots in the late 15th century. The verb "scramble" originally meant to move hastily or to struggle fiercely, possibly coming from the Old French word "eschramber," which meant "to confuse" or "to disorder." Over time, the meaning of "scramble" expanded to include reordering or rearranging something, often in a disordered or confused state. The opposite action, "unscramble," emerged in the early 20th century as a way to describe the process of reassembling or deciphering a scrambled or disordered collection of items or letters. In the context of puzzles, "unscramble" specifically refers to the act of rearranging letters to form a valid word or phrase. Today, the word is widely used in word games, puzzles, and educational settings, and is often synonymous with "solve" or "decipher."