See Also: Ordinary(medicine)
Ordinary(money)
ordinary(2)(dictionary)
ordinary(1)(dictionary)
ordinary(dictionary)
Ordinary interest(finance)
ordinary shares(dictionary)
Ordinary trade(finance)
ordinary seaman(dictionary)
Ordinary income(finance)

ordinary(1) (iou)



ordinary adjective & adverb. LME.
[Latin ordinarius orderly, usual, from ordo, ordin- ORDER noun: see -ARY1.]
A. adjective.
a. Belonging to or occurring in regular custom or practice; normal, customary, usual. LME.
J. Buchan His ordinary manner was a composed geniality. Hamilton (Ontario) Spectator The artists mainly produced typical, ordinary Dutch scenes. A. Storr Holidays are escapes from the routine of ordinary day-to-day existence.
b. Of an official etc.: belonging to a regular or permanent staff. Cf. EXTRAORDINARY adjective 2, in ordinary s.v. ORDINARY noun. M16.
c. Of language, usage, etc.: widely found or attested; not specialized; spec. not having the precision of the language of symbolic logic. L17.
(Of a judge) exercising authority by virtue of office and not by special deputation; (of jurisdiction etc.) exercised by virtue of office. LME.
Conforming to order or rule; regular, methodical. L15-M17.
Of common or everyday occurrence; frequent, abundant. L16-E18.
Shakespeare 2 Henry IV These fits Are with his Highness very ordinary.
a. Of the usual kind, not singular or exceptional; commonplace, mundane. Also, plain in appearance. L16.
B. Pym The most ordinary things done with someone one loves are full of new significance. C. Ekwensi Why could she be so unglamorous, ordinary and unsophisticated? Beano Hm! Pretty ordinary lumps of stone.
b. Commerce. Of shares, stock, etc.: forming part of the common stock entitling holders to a dividend from net profits. Cf. preference share, preference stock s.v. PREFERENCE. M19.
c. Of a person: typical of a particular group; average; without exceptional experience or expert knowledge. M19.
Times A government claiming that it wants to involve ordinary people in decision-making.
Not distinguished by rank or position; characteristic of the common people; vulgar, unrefined, coarse. M17-E19.
Phrases: Judge Ordinary (a) Hist. the judge of the Court for Divorce, a branch of ecclesiastical judicature; (b) Scots Law the sheriff of a county. Lord Ordinary Scots Law a judge in the Court of Session sitting in the Outer House. more than ordinary arch. & dial. (a) adjectival phr. more than usual; of a greater amount or to a greater degree than usual; (b) adverbial phr. unusually, exceptionally.
Special collocations: ordinary AMBASSADOR. ordinary grade Hist. the lower of the two main levels of examination of the Scottish Certificate of Education. ordinary level Hist. the lower of the two main levels of examination of the General Certificate of Education in England and Wales. ordinary ray Optics in double refraction, the ray that obeys the ordinary laws of refraction (cf. extraordinary ray s.v. EXTRAORDINARY adjective 1). ordinary seaman a seaman of the lowest rank in the Royal Navy. ordinary wine rare = VIN ordinaire.
b. adverb. In an ordinary manner; as a matter of regular practice; commonly, ordinarily. Now colloq. L16.
ordinariness noun the quality or condition of being ordinary; an instance of this quality: E17.