ordinary
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About Our Definitions: All forms of a word (noun, verb, etc.) are now displayed on one page.1or·di·nary
noun \ˈȯr-də-ˌner-ē\ plural or·di·nar·ies
Definition of ORDINARY
1
a (1) : a prelate exercising original jurisdiction over a specified territory or group (2) : a clergyman appointed formerly in England to attend condemned criminals b : a judge of probate in some states of the United States
2
often capitalized : the parts of the Mass that do not vary from day to day
3
: the regular or customary condition or course of things —usually used in the phrase out of the ordinary
4
a British : a meal served to all comers at a fixed price b chiefly British : a tavern or eating house serving regular meals
5
: a common heraldic charge (as the bend) of simple form
See Origin of ORDINARY
Middle English ordinarie, from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin ordinarius, from Latin ordinarius, adjective
First Known Use: 14th century
Rhymes with ORDINARY
actuary, adversary, airy-fairy, ancillary, antiquary, apiary, arbitrary, aviary, axillary, bacillary, beriberi, bestiary, biliary, black raspberry, Bloody Mary, boysenberry, breviary, budgetary, calamari, calamary, candleberry, Canterbury, capillary, carpellary, cassowary, catenary, cautionary, cavitary, cemetery, centenary, certiorari, checkerberry, chinaberry, cometary, commentary, commissary, condottiere, coralberry, corollary, coronary, culinary, customary, dictionary, dietary, dignitary, dromedary, dysentery, elderberry, emissary, estuary, farkleberry, February, formulary, fragmentary, fritillary, functionary, funerary, honorary, huckleberry, intermarry, janissary, January, lamasery, lapidary, lectionary, legendary, legionary, lingonberry, literary, loganberry, luminary, mammillary, mandatary, maxillary, medullary, mercenary, miliary, military, millenary, milliary, millinery, missionary, momentary, monastery, mortuary, necessary, ossuary, partridgeberry, pensionary, pigmentary, planetary, Pondicherry, prebendary, presbytery, pulmonary, quaternary, red mulberry, reliquary, rowanberry, salivary, salmonberry, salutary, sanctuary, sanguinary, sanitary, secondary, secretary, sedentary, seminary, silverberry, solitary, sour cherry, stationary, stationery, statuary, subcontrary, sublunary, sugarberry, sumptuary, syllabary, temporary, tertiary, thimbleberry, Tipperary, Tom and Jerry, topiary, tributary, tutelary, Typhoid Mary, unitary, urinary, vestiary, Virgin Mary, visionary, voluntary, vulnerary, Waterbury, whortleberry, winterberry
2ordinary
adjectiveDefinition of ORDINARY
2
: having or constituting immediate or original jurisdiction; also : belonging to such jurisdiction
3
a : of common quality, rank, or ability <an ordinary teenager> b : deficient in quality : poor, inferior <ordinary wine>
— or·di·nar·i·ly \ˌȯr-də-ˈner-ə-lē\ adverb
— or·di·nar·i·ness \ˈȯr-də-ˌner-ē-nəs\ noun
Examples of ORDINARY
- They've had the ordinary problems associated with starting a new business.
- My wife thought our guide was strange, but he seemed perfectly ordinary to me.
- The meal was ordinary and uninspired.
Origin of ORDINARY
Middle English ordinarie, from Latin ordinarius, from ordin-, ordo order
First Known Use: 15th century
Related to ORDINARY
- Synonyms
- average, common, commonplace, cut-and-dried (also cut-and-dry), everyday, garden-variety, normal, prosaic, routine, run-of-the-mill, standard, standard-issue, unexceptional, unremarkable, usual, workaday, par for the course
- Antonyms
- abnormal, exceptional, extraordinary, odd, out-of-the-way, strange, unusual
See Synonym Discussion at common
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