ˈɔ:dnrɪ adj. & n. --adj. 1 a
regular,
normal,
customary,
usual (in
the ordinary
course of events). b
boring;
commonplace (an ordinary
little man). 2
Brit.
Law (esp. of a judge) having
immediate or ex officio
jurisdiction,
not deputed. --n. (pl. -ies) 1 Brit. Law a
person,
esp. a
judge, having immediate or ex officio jurisdiction. 2 (the Ordinary) a an
archbishop in a
province. b a
bishop in a
diocese. 3 (usu. Ordinary) RC
Ch. a
those parts of a service, esp. the mass,
which do not
vary from day to day. b a
rule or
book laying down the
order of
divine service. 4
Heraldry a
charge of the earliest, simplest,
and commonest kind (esp.
chief, pale, bend,
fess, bar,
chevron,
cross, saltire). 5 (Ordinary) (also
Lord Ordinary)
any of the judges of the
Court of
Session in Scotland, constituting the
Outer House. 6 esp. US
hist. an
early type of
bicycle with one large and one
very small wheel; a penny-farthing. 7 Brit. hist. a a
public meal
provided at a fixed
time and
price at an
inn etc. b an
establishment providing this. 8 US a
tavern. øin ordinary Brit. by
permanent appointment (esp. to the
royal household) (physician in ordinary). in the ordinary
way if the circumstances are or
were not
exceptional. ordinary
level Brit. hist. the lowest of the
three levels of the
GCE examination. ordinary scale =
decimal scale. ordinary
seaman a
sailor of the lowest rank,
that below able-bodied seaman. ordinary shares Brit. shares entitling holders to a
dividend from
net profits (cf.
preference shares).
out of the ordinary
unusual. øøordinarily adv. ordinariness n. [ME f. L ordinarius
orderly (as ORDER)]
