Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1500-1600
Language: Old French
Origin: pesle mesle, from mesler 'to mix'

pell-mell

 adverb
     
pell-mell old-fashioned
quickly and in an uncontrolled way:
The children ran pell-mell out of school.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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