ordonnance

American  

[awr-dn-uhns, awr-daw-nahns] / ˈɔr dn əns, ɔr dɔˈnɑ̃s /

noun

plural

ordonnances

1. the arrangement or disposition of parts, as of a building, picture, or literary work.

2. an ordinance, decree, or law.

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ordonnance British  

/ ˈɔːdənəns, ɔrdɔnɑ̃s /

noun

1. the proper disposition of the elements of a building or an artistic or literary composition

2. an ordinance, law, or decree, esp in French law

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Other Word Forms

• ordonnant adjective

Etymology

Origin of ordonnance

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

Example Sentences

A police "ordonnance" would obviate all this in twenty-four hours.

From A Bibliographical, Antiquarian and Picturesque Tour in France and Germany, Volume Two by Dibdin, Thomas Frognall

The ordonnance of 1667, by which Lewis the fourteenth established an uniformity of procedure through all his courts, has been considered as one of the greatest benefits of his reign.

From The Works of Samuel Johnson, Volume 06 Reviews, Political Tracts, and Lives of Eminent Persons by Johnson, Samuel

As to the plan and ordonnance of the Poem.

From Literary Remains, Volume 1 by Coleridge, Samuel Taylor

There then appeared a royal ordonnance, proclaiming Napoleon Buonaparte an outlaw, and convoking on the instant the two chambers.

From The History of Napoleon Buonaparte by Lockhart, J. G. (John Gibson)

The art of criticism is rigorous; impressions are merely its raw material; the life-blood of its activity is in the process of ordonnance of æsthetic impressions.

From Aspects of Literature by Murry, J. Middleton