A subsemigroup S of a semigroup Q is an order in Q if, for every q ∈ Q, there exist a, b, c, d ∈ S such that q = a−1b = cd−1 where a and d are contained in (maximal) subgroups of Q and a−1 and d−1 are their inverses in these subgroups. A semigroup which is a union of its subgroups is completely regular.