Deserve an order (5)
I believe the answer is:
merit
This clue could be a double definition.
'deserve' is the first definition.
(I know that deserve can be written as merit)
'an order' is the second definition.
The definition and answer can be both human attributes as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps there's an association between them I don't understand?
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for merit that I've seen before include "Value" , "Just deserts" , "Deserve, be worthy of" , "Good point or quality" , "Excellence, desert" .)