ordinary

[ awr-dn-er-ee ]

adjective

1. of no special quality or interest; commonplace; unexceptional:

   One novel is brilliant, the other is decidedly ordinary; an ordinary person.

   Antonyms: exceptional, unusual, extraordinary

2. plain or undistinguished:

   ordinary clothes.

3. somewhat inferior or below average; mediocre.
4. customary; usual; normal:

   We plan to do the ordinary things this weekend.

   Synonyms: accustomed, regular

5. Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. common, vulgar, or disreputable.
6. (of jurisdiction) immediate, as contrasted with something that is delegated.
7. (of officials) belonging to the regular staff or the fully recognized class.

noun

, plural or·di·nar·ies.

1. the commonplace or average condition, degree, etc.:

   ability far above the ordinary.

2. something regular, customary, or usual.
3. Ecclesiastical.
   1. an order or form for divine service, especially that for saying Mass.
   2. the service of the Mass exclusive of the canon.
4. History/Historical. a member of the clergy appointed to prepare condemned prisoners for death.
5. English Ecclesiastical Law. a bishop, archbishop, or other ecclesiastic or his deputy, in his capacity as an ex officio ecclesiastical authority.
6. (in some U.S. states) a judge of a court of probate.
7. British. (in a restaurant or inn) a complete meal in which all courses are included at one fixed price, as opposed to à la carte service.
8. a restaurant, public house, or dining room serving all guests and customers the same standard meal or fare.
9. penny-farthing ( def ).
10. Heraldry.
    1. any of the simplest and commonest charges, usually having straight or broadly curved edges.
    2. honorable ordinary.

ordinary

/ ˈɔːdənrɪ /

adjective

1. of common or established type or occurrence
2. familiar, everyday, or unexceptional
3. uninteresting or commonplace
4. having regular or ex officio jurisdiction

   an ordinary judge

5. maths (of a differential equation) containing two variables only and derivatives of one of the variables with respect to the other

noun

1. a common or average situation, amount, or degree (esp in the phrase out of the ordinary )
2. a normal or commonplace person or thing
3. civil law a judge who exercises jurisdiction in his own right
4. usually capital an ecclesiastic, esp a bishop, holding an office to which certain jurisdictional powers are attached
5. RC Church
   1. the parts of the Mass that do not vary from day to day Compare proper
   2. a prescribed form of divine service, esp the Mass
6. See penny-farthing
   the US name for penny-farthing
7. heraldry any of several conventional figures, such as the bend, the fesse, and the cross, commonly charged upon shields
8. history a clergyman who visited condemned prisoners before their death
9. obsolete.
   1. a meal provided regularly at a fixed price
   2. the inn providing such meals
10. in ordinary
    in ordinary (used esp in titles) in regular service or attendance

    physician in ordinary to the sovereign

Other Words From

• or·di·nar·i·ness noun
• qua·si-or·di·nar·y adjective
• su·per·or·di·nar·y adjective
• un·or·di·nar·y adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ordinary¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English ordinarie (noun and adjective), from Latin ordinārius “regular, of the usual order,” equivalent to ordin- (stem of ordō “row, regular arrangement”) + -ārius adjective suffix; order, -ary

Word History and Origins

Origin of ordinary¹

C16: (adj) and C13: (some n senses): ultimately from Latin ordinārius orderly, from ordō order

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in ordinary, in regular service:

   a physician in ordinary to the king.

2. out of the ordinary,
   1. exceptional; unusual:

      Having triplets is certainly out of the ordinary.

   2. exceptionally good; unusually good:

      The food at this restaurant is truly out of the ordinary.

More idioms and phrases containing ordinary

see out of the ordinary .

Synonym Study

See common.

Example Sentences

There was nothing out of the ordinary, but for the fact that Jim was gay.

From The Daily Beast

The Rizzoli in New York City was no ordinary bookstore in its seventies heyday.

From The Daily Beast

They refused to believe that ordinary humans could beat them at their own game.

From The Daily Beast

At the White House on Monday, Obama praised Hagel as “no ordinary secretary of defense.”

From The Daily Beast

“My experience was very ordinary, but very privileged,” she said.

From The Daily Beast

Bacteria, when present in great numbers, give a uniform cloud which cannot be removed by ordinary filtration.

From Project Gutenberg

All the ordinary subjects in schools have been taught over and over again millions and millions of times.

From Project Gutenberg

In one sense, then, the new issue has adequate expansibility for ordinary needs.

From Project Gutenberg

When ordinary methods do not suffice, it can usually be cleared by shaking up with a little magnesium carbonate and filtering.

From Project Gutenberg

It behaves the same as glucose with all the ordinary tests, and can be distinguished only by polarization.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• common
• conventional
• dull
• generic
• humble
• mediocre
• normal
• plain
• simple
• unremarkable
• workaday