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Why is the term amorphous solid somewhat misleading for materials such as glass?

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The term "amorphous solid" is considered somewhat misleading because the word "amorphous" literally translates to "without form or structure," which inaccurately implies that these materials lack internal organization.1

In reality, materials such as glass possess well-defined short-range order at the atomic level. This structure is a direct result of chemical bonding between atoms, which holds the solid together and ensures that each atom maintains a specific distance from its nearest neighbors, much like in a crystalline solid.1

While amorphous solids lack long-range order or translational periodicity—meaning their atomic patterns do not repeat in a regular array across large distances—they are not randomly distributed like atoms in a gas. Therefore, while they are noncrystalline, they are far from being "without structure".12