translation of "órdenes"

Question

While reading an article about the capture of some members of the Zeta gang, I came across a word I cannot find a translation for. "órdenes". It is used in the following sentence. "estaba bajo las órdenes de” Luky”, jefe de la región sur, quien está en el nivel tres de la estructura del grupo criminal." I can find the verb "ordenar" and "ordeñar" which I think is the same word, but I found no spelling with a tilde on the "o". additionally, it appears to be used as a noun, as in "under the orders of..." but I can't find that translation anywhere.

I will appreciate any help,

Muchas gracias,

Jim

Answer 1

You are on the right track. It means orders and is a noun. The reason you don't find it with the tilde is that the dictionary lists the singular, orden. When we make it plural, we add another syllable, so we have to add the tilde to keep the stress in the original location. It's an orthographic spelling change (to preserve the pronunciation).

Answer 2

I forgot to mention, ordenar and ordeñar are not the same word. The first one means to arrange or order. The second one means to milk, like a cow or a goat.

Answer 3

He's under the orders of "Luky."