Ordinary Definition

ôrdn-ĕrē
ordinaries
adjective
Customary; usual; regular; normal.
Webster's New World
Familiar; unexceptional; common; average.
Webster's New World
Of no exceptional ability, degree, or quality; average.
Ordinary people; ordinary black tea.
American Heritage
Relatively poor or inferior; below average.
Webster's New World
Having direct authority to decide a case, rather than being delegated that power, as a judge.
American Heritage
noun
ordinaries
The usual or normal condition or course of events.
Nothing out of the ordinary occurred.
American Heritage
A judge with direct authority as opposed to delegated authority to decide a case.
American Heritage
In some states, a judge of probate.
Webster's New World
An official having jurisdiction within a specified area by right of the office he or she holds; esp., a bishop having such jurisdiction within his or her own diocese.
Webster's New World
A division of the Roman Breviary containing the unchangeable parts of the office other than the Psalms.
American Heritage
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
idiom
out of the ordinary
  • unusual; extraordinary
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Ordinary

Noun

Singular:
ordinary
Plural:
ordinaries

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Ordinary

Origin of Ordinary

  • Middle English ordinarie from Old French from Latin ōrdinārius from ōrdō ōrdin- order ar- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Anglo-Norman ordenaire, ordenarie etc., from Latin ōrdinārius (“regular, orderly"), from ōrdō (“order").

    From Wiktionary

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