ordonnance

[awr-dn-uh ns; French awr-daw-nahns]

noun, plural or·don·nanc·es

[awr-dn-uh n-siz; French awr-daw-nahns] /ˈɔr dn ən sɪz; French ɔr dɔˈnɑ̃s/.

the arrangement or disposition of parts, as of a building, picture, or literary work.
an ordinance, decree, or law.

Origin of ordonnance

1635–45; < French, alteration of Old French ordenance ordinance, by influence of donner to give

Related formsor·don·nant, adjective

Can be confusedordinance ordnance ordonnance

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for ordonnance

Historical Examples of ordonnance

The Ordonnance as printed by Laurire and Isambert is of 1287.
A History of The Inquisition of The Middle Ages; volume II
Henry Charles Lea
Three Taitsi rode off to present the ordonnance to the Kitats.
Travels in Tartary, Thibet, and China
Evariste Regis Huc
On the 27th this ordonnance was confirmed in Parliament amidst loud cheers.
Political Women (Vol. 1 of 2)
Sutherland Menzies
In the general arrangement, in the ordonnance, late Gothic caprice and fantastic love of the unforeseen rule triumphant.
The Brochure Series of Architectural Illustration, vol. 06, No. 10, October 1900
Various
French law was codified in the 17th century by the “Ordonnance de 1673.”
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 7
Various

British Dictionary definitions for ordonnance

ordonnance

noun

the proper disposition of the elements of a building or an artistic or literary composition
an ordinance, law, or decree, esp in French law

Word Origin for ordonnance

C17: from Old French ordenance arrangement, influenced by ordonner to order

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012