Definitions for ordinary
ˈɔr dnˌɛr ior·di·nary

Princeton's WordNet(3.43 / 7 votes)Rate this definition:

1. ordinary(noun)

   a judge of a probate court

2. ordinary(noun)

   the expected or commonplace condition or situation

   "not out of the ordinary"

3. ordinary(noun)

   a clergyman appointed to prepare condemned prisoners for death

4. ordinary, ordinary bicycle(noun)

   an early bicycle with a very large front wheel and small back wheel

5. ordinary(adj)

   (heraldry) any of several conventional figures used on shields

6. ordinary(adj)

   not exceptional in any way especially in quality or ability or size or degree

   "ordinary everyday objects"; "ordinary decency"; "an ordinary day"; "an ordinary wine"

7. average, ordinary(adj)

   lacking special distinction, rank, or status; commonly encountered

   "average people"; "the ordinary (or common) man in the street"

Wiktionary(5.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. ordinary(Noun)

   A devotional manual.

   Etymology: From ordenaire, ordenarie etc., from ordinarius, from ordo.

2. ordinary(Noun)

   A rule, or book of rules, prescribing the order of service, especially of Mass.

   Etymology: From ordenaire, ordenarie etc., from ordinarius, from ordo.

3. ordinary(Noun)

   A person having immediate jurisdiction in a given case of ecclesiastical law, such as the bishop within a diocese.

   Etymology: From ordenaire, ordenarie etc., from ordinarius, from ordo.

4. ordinary(Noun)

   A set portion of food, later as available for a fixed price at an inn or other eating establishment.

   Etymology: From ordenaire, ordenarie etc., from ordinarius, from ordo.

5. ordinary(Noun)

   A place where such meals are served; a public tavern, inn.

   Etymology: From ordenaire, ordenarie etc., from ordinarius, from ordo.

6. ordinary(Noun)

   One of the standard geometric designs placed across the center of a coat of arms, such as a pale or fess.

   Etymology: From ordenaire, ordenarie etc., from ordinarius, from ordo.

7. ordinary(Noun)

   An ordinary thing or person.

   Etymology: From ordenaire, ordenarie etc., from ordinarius, from ordo.

8. ordinary(Noun)

   A penny-farthing bicycle.

   Etymology: From ordenaire, ordenarie etc., from ordinarius, from ordo.

9. ordinary(Adjective)

   Having regular jurisdiction (of a judge; now only used in certain phrases).

   Etymology: From ordenaire, ordenarie etc., from ordinarius, from ordo.

10. ordinary(Adjective)

    Being part of the natural order of things; normal, customary, routine.

    On an ordinary day I wake up at nine o'clock, work for six hours, and then go to the gym.

    Etymology: From ordenaire, ordenarie etc., from ordinarius, from ordo.

11. ordinary(Adjective)

    Having no special characteristics or function; everyday, common, mundane (often deprecatory).

    Etymology: From ordenaire, ordenarie etc., from ordinarius, from ordo.

12. ordinary(Adjective)

    Bad or undesirable.

    Etymology: From ordenaire, ordenarie etc., from ordinarius, from ordo.

13. Ordinary(Noun)

    The part of the Roman Catholic Mass that is the same every day

    Etymology: From ordenaire, ordenarie etc., from ordinarius, from ordo.

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Ordinary

   An ordinary is an officer of a church or civic authority who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute laws. Such officers are found in hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ecclesiastical law system. In the Episcopal Church, for example, an ordinary is a diocesan bishop. In Eastern Christianity, a corresponding officer is called a hierarch. Within civic governance, notably in the southern United States, the role of the county ordinary historically involved the discharge of certain, often legal or legally related, tasks falling to city or county authorities, such as licensing marriages and adjudicating claims against an authority.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Ordinary

   or′di-na-ri, adj. according to the common order: usual: of common rank: plain: of little merit: (coll.) plain-looking.—n. a judge of ecclesiastical or other causes who acts in his own right: something settled or customary: actual office: a bishop or his deputy: a place where regular meals are provided at fixed charges: the common run or mass: (her.) one of a class of armorial charges, called also honourable ordinaries, figures of simple outline and geometrical form, conventional in character—chief, pale, fess, bend, bend-sinister, chevron, cross, saltire, pile, pall, bordure, orle, tressure, canton, flanches.—adv. Or′dinarily.—Ordinary of the mass, the established sequence or fixed order for saying mass.—In ordinary, in regular and customary attendance.

Dictionary of Nautical Terms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. ordinary

   The establishment of the persons formerly employed to take charge of the ships of war which are laid up in ordinary at several harbours adjacent to the royal dockyards. These duties are now under the superintendent of the dockyard. Also, the state of such men-of-war and vessels as are out of commission and laid up.

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'ordinary' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1589

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'ordinary' in Written Corpus Frequency: #1339

3. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'ordinary' in Adjectives Frequency: #182

How to pronounce ordinary?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say ordinary in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of ordinary in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of ordinary in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of ordinary in a Sentence

1. Lewis Mumford:

   Unable to create a meaningful life for itself, the personality takes its own revenge: from the lower depths comes a regressive form of spontaneity: raw animality forms a counterpoise to the meaningless stimuli and the vicarious life to which the ordinary man is conditioned. Getting spiritual nourishment from this chaos of events, sensations, and devious interpretations is the equivalent of trying to pick through a garbage pile for food.

2. Valerie Jarrett:

   I think we have to turn it into a teaching moment, i'm fine. I'm worried about all the people out there who don't have a circle of friends and followers who come right to their defense. The person who is walking down the street minding their own business and they see somebody cling to their purse, or run across the street, or every black parent I know who has a boy who has to sit down and have a conversation -- the talk -- as we call it. As you say, those ordinary examples of racism that happen every single day.

3. Filmmaker Leslee Udwin:

   These momentous, courageous protests, you know, unprecedented numbers of people. Ordinary men and women in India who took to the streets across India's cities to cry, 'Enough is enough. We will not have our women unsafe. We will not have our women disrespected.' And for me, India was actually leading the world by example. This is what took me out there.

4. Mr Ai:

   This decision is a denial of Ai Weiwei's rights as an ordinary citizen.

5. Albert Ho:

   Protesters admire how Lam Wing-kee, as an ordinary citizen, fought against the authority and exposed its lies. Many people told me they're worried about the safety of Lam.

Images & Illustrations of ordinary

Popularity rank by frequency of use