ordinary

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or·di·nar·y

(ôr′dn-ĕr′ē)

adj.

1. Commonly encountered; usual: an ordinary delay at the bridge tolls. See Synonyms at common.

a. Having no special ability, quality, or purpose: ordinary people; ordinary black tea.

b. Not particularly good; not better than average: The service was good, but the food was very ordinary.

3. Law Having direct authority to decide a case, rather than being delegated that power, as a judge.

4. Mathematics Designating a differential equation containing no more than one independent variable.

n. pl. or·di·nar·ies

1. The usual or normal condition or course of events: Nothing out of the ordinary occurred.

2. Law A judge with direct authority as opposed to delegated authority to decide a case.

3. often Ordinary Ecclesiastical

a. The parts of the Mass that remain unchanged from day to day.

b. A division of the Roman Breviary containing the unchangeable parts of the office other than the Psalms.

c. A cleric, such as the residential bishop of a diocese, with ordinary jurisdiction over a specified territory.

4. Heraldry One of the simplest and commonest charges, such as the bend and the cross.

5. Chiefly British

a. A complete meal provided at a fixed price.

b. A tavern or inn providing such a meal.

[Middle English ordinarie, from Old French, from Latin ōrdinārius, from ōrdō, ōrdin-, order; see ar- in Indo-European roots.]

or′di·nar′i·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ordinary

(ˈɔːdənrɪ)

adj

1. of common or established type or occurrence

2. familiar, everyday, or unexceptional

3. uninteresting or commonplace

4. (Law) having regular or ex officio jurisdiction: an ordinary judge.

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

n, pl -naries

6. a common or average situation, amount, or degree (esp in the phrase out of the ordinary)

7. a normal or commonplace person or thing

8. (Law) civil law a judge who exercises jurisdiction in his own right

9. (Ecclesiastical Terms) (usually capital) an ecclesiastic, esp a bishop, holding an office to which certain jurisdictional powers are attached

10. (Ecclesiastical Terms) RC Church

a. the parts of the Mass that do not vary from day to day. Compare proper¹³

b. a prescribed form of divine service, esp the Mass

11. (Automotive Engineering) the US name for penny-farthing

12. (Heraldry) heraldry any of several conventional figures, such as the bend, the fesse, and the cross, commonly charged upon shields

13. (Historical Terms) history a clergyman who visited condemned prisoners before their death

14. obsolete

a. a meal provided regularly at a fixed price

b. the inn providing such meals

15. in ordinary Brit (used esp in titles) in regular service or attendance: physician in ordinary to the sovereign.

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

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

or•di•nar•y

(ˈɔr dnˌɛr i)

adj., n., pl. -nar•ies. adj.

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

2. plain or undistinguished.

3. somewhat inferior or below average; mediocre.

4. customary; usual; normal.

5. (of jurisdiction) immediate, as contrasted with that which is delegated.

6. (of officials) belonging to the regular staff or the fully recognized class.

7. the commonplace or average condition, degree, etc.: ability far above the ordinary.

8. something regular, customary, or usual.

9. the service of the Mass exclusive of the proper.

10. (formerly, in England) a member of the clergy appointed to prepare condemned prisoners for death.

11. a bishop, archbishop, or other ecclesiastic or his deputy, in his capacity as an ex officio ecclesiastical authority.

12. (in some U.S. states) a judge of a court of probate.

13. Brit. a complete meal at a restaurant or inn with all courses included at one fixed price.

14. a restaurant, public house, or dining room serving all customers the same standard meal or fare.

15. a high bicycle of an early type, with one large wheel in front and one small wheel behind.

16. a simple, common heraldic charge, as the chevron.

Idioms:

1. in ordinary, in regular service: a physician in ordinary to the king.

2. out of the ordinary,

a. unusual.

b. unusually good.

[1250–1300; Middle English < Latin ōrdinārius regular, of the usual order. See order]

or′di•nar`i•ness, n.

syn: See common.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	ordinary - a judge of a probate court law, jurisprudence - the collection of rules imposed by authority; "civilization presupposes respect for the law"; "the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order" judge, jurist, justice - a public official authorized to decide questions brought before a court of justice
	2.	ordinary - the expected or commonplace condition or situation; "not out of the ordinary" condition - a mode of being or form of existence of a person or thing; "the human condition"
	3.	ordinary - a clergyman appointed to prepare condemned prisoners for death clergyman, man of the cloth, reverend - a member of the clergy and a spiritual leader of the Christian Church
	4.	ordinary - an early bicycle with a very large front wheel and small back wheel ordinary bicycle bicycle, bike, cycle, wheel - a wheeled vehicle that has two wheels and is moved by foot pedals
	5.	ordinary - (heraldry) any of several conventional figures used on shields bend dexter, bend - diagonal line traversing a shield from the upper right corner to the lower left armorial bearing, heraldic bearing, bearing, charge - heraldry consisting of a design or image depicted on a shield fess, fesse - (heraldry) an ordinary consisting of a broad horizontal band across a shield heraldry - the study and classification of armorial bearings and the tracing of genealogies bend sinister, bar sinister - a mark of bastardy; lines from top right to bottom left
Adj.	1.	ordinary - not exceptional in any way especially in quality or ability or size or degree; "ordinary everyday objects"; "ordinary decency"; "an ordinary day"; "an ordinary wine" common - having no special distinction or quality; widely known or commonly encountered; average or ordinary or usual; "the common man"; "a common sailor"; "the common cold"; "a common nuisance"; "followed common procedure"; "it is common knowledge that she lives alone"; "the common housefly"; "a common brand of soap" usual - occurring or encountered or experienced or observed frequently or in accordance with regular practice or procedure; "grew the usual vegetables"; "the usual summer heat"; "came at the usual time"; "the child's usual bedtime" extraordinary - beyond what is ordinary or usual; highly unusual or exceptional or remarkable; "extraordinary authority"; "an extraordinary achievement"; "her extraordinary beauty"; "enjoyed extraordinary popularity"; "an extraordinary capacity for work"; "an extraordinary session of the legislature"
	2.	ordinary - lacking special distinction, rank, or status; commonly encountered; "average people"; "the ordinary (or common) man in the street" average common - having no special distinction or quality; widely known or commonly encountered; average or ordinary or usual; "the common man"; "a common sailor"; "the common cold"; "a common nuisance"; "followed common procedure"; "it is common knowledge that she lives alone"; "the common housefly"; "a common brand of soap"

ordinary

adjective

1. usual, standard, normal, common, established, settled, regular, familiar, household, typical, conventional, routine, stock, everyday, prevailing, accustomed, customary, habitual, quotidian, wonted It was just an ordinary day for us.

2. commonplace, plain, modest, humble, stereotyped, pedestrian, mundane, vanilla (slang), stale, banal, unremarkable, prosaic, run-of-the-mill, humdrum, homespun, uninteresting, workaday, common or garden (informal), unmemorable My life seems pretty ordinary compared to yours.

3. average, middling, fair, indifferent, not bad, mediocre, so-so (informal), unremarkable, tolerable, run-of-the-mill, passable, undistinguished, uninspired, unexceptional, bog-standard (Brit. & Irish slang), no great shakes (informal), dime-a-dozen (informal) The food here is cheap, but very ordinary.
average special, novel, rare, inspired, unique, unusual, impressive, extraordinary, outstanding, distinguished, superior, exceptional, notable

out of the ordinary unusual, different, odd, important, special, striking, surprising, significant, strange, exciting, rare, impressive, extraordinary, outstanding, remarkable, bizarre, distinguished, unexpected, curious, exceptional, notable, unfamiliar, abnormal, queer, uncommon, singular, unconventional, noteworthy, atypical Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary about him?

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

ordinary

adjective

1. Commonly encountered:

average, common, commonplace, general, normal, typical, usual.

2. Being of no special quality or type:

average, common, commonplace, cut-and-dried, formulaic, garden, garden-variety, indifferent, mediocre, plain, routine, run-of-the-mill, standard, stock, undistinguished, unexceptional, unremarkable.

noun

A regular or customary matter, condition, or course of events:

commonplace, norm, rule, usual.

Translations

عاديعادي، ليس ذا جَوْدَةٍ عاليَهعَادِيٌّمؤلوف

obyčejný

almindelignormalordinærsædvanlig

gewöhnlich normal durchschnittlich

συνηθισμένος κοινός

ordinario vulgar corriente mediocre normal

tavallinenairutkuvio

ordinaire moyen

običan

rendesszokásos

vanalegur, eîlilegur

ordinario straordinario di solito mediocre normale

普通の

보통의정규

ne toks kaip visadane toks kaip visų

ikdienišķsparastsviduvējs

gewoon

hverdagslig normal ordinær

zwykły

comum ordinário

обыкновенный обычный рядовой

navaden

vanligordinär

อย่างธรรมดา

sıradan olağan

bình thường

平凡的平常的普通的

ordinary

[ˈɔːdnrɪ]

A. ADJ

1. (= usual, normal) [milk, coffee] → normal, corriente
it has 25 calories less than ordinary ice cream → tiene 25 calorías menos que el helado normal or corriente
my ordinary doctor → el médico al que voy normalmente
I'd rather wear my ordinary clothes → prefiero usar mi ropa normal
the heat made ordinary life almost impossible → el calor hacía la vida normal casi imposible
in ordinary use → usado normalmente
in the ordinary way → normalmente

2. (= unremarkable, average) → normal y corriente
it was just an ordinary weekend for us → para nosotros no era más que un fin de semana cualquiera or un fin de semana normal y corriente
he's a normal, ordinary guy → es un tipo normal y corriente
it's not what you'd call an ordinary present → no es lo que se dice un regalo de todos los días
an ordinary citizen → un simple ciudadano → un ciudadano de a pie
it was no ordinary bar → no era un bar corriente
your life since then must have seemed very ordinary → tu vida desde entonces debe de haberte parecido demasiado normal
the meal was very ordinary (pej) → la comida fue bastante mediocre, la comida no fue nada del otro mundo or del otro jueves

B. N
a man above the ordinary → un hombre fuera de serie, un hombre excepcional
a cut above the ordinary → fuera de serie
out of the ordinary → fuera de lo común, extraordinario

C. CPD ordinary degree N (Brit) (Univ) → diploma m título universitario de categoría inferior al Honours degree DEGREE Ordinary Grade N (Scot) (formerly) nivel medio de la enseñanza secundaria → Bachillerato m Unificado y Polivalente (Sp)
Ordinary Level N (Brit) (formerly) nivel medio de la enseñanza secundaria → Bachillerato m Unificado y Polivalente (Sp)
Ordinary National Certificate N (Brit) → diploma m de técnico especialista
Ordinary National Diploma N (Brit) diploma profesional → diploma m de técnico especialista
ordinary seaman N (Brit) (Navy) → marinero m
ordinary shares NPL → acciones fpl ordinarias

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

ordinary

[ˈɔː^rd^ənəri] adj

(gen) → ordinaire
an ordinary day → une journée ordinaire
an ordinary family → une famille ordinaire
He's just an ordinary guy → C'est juste un type ordinaire.
What do ordinary people think of modern art? → Qu'est-ce que les gens ordinaires pensent de l'art moderne?

(pejorative) → ordinaire
to be very ordinary → être très ordinaire out of the ordinaryordinary degree n (British) → licence fordinary seaman n (British) → matelot mordinary shares npl → actions fpl ordinaires

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

ordinary

adj

(= usual) → gewöhnlich, normal; to do something in the ordinary way → etw auf die normale or gewöhnliche Art und Weise tun; in the ordinary way I would … → normalerweise or gewöhnlich würde ich …; ordinary use → normaler Gebrauch; my ordinary doctor → der Arzt, zu dem ich normalerweise gehe

(= average) → normal, durchschnittlich; (= nothing special, commonplace) → gewöhnlich, alltäglich; the ordinary Englishman → der normale Engländer; a very ordinary kind of person → ein ganz gewöhnlicher Mensch; this is no ordinary car → dies ist kein gewöhnliches Auto

out of the ordinary → außergewöhnlich, außerordentlich; nothing/something out of the ordinary → nichts/etwas Außergewöhnliches or Ungewöhnliches; to be a cut above the ordinary → besser als der Durchschnitt sein; intelligence above the ordinary → überdurchschnittliche or außergewöhnliche Intelligenz

(form) physician/painter in ordinary to the king → königlicher Leibarzt/Hofmaler

(Eccl) the ordinary of the mass → Ordo m → Missae

ordinary

Ordinary grade

n (Brit) = O grade

Ordinary level

n (Brit) = O level

Ordinary National Certificate

n (Brit) Qualifikationsnachweis von einer Fachschule

Ordinary National Diploma

n (Brit) Diplom einer technischen Fachschule

ordinary seaman

n → Maat m

ordinary share

n (Fin) → Stammaktie f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

ordinary

[ˈɔːdnrɪ]

1. adj

a. (usual) → abituale, solito/a
in the ordinary way (in the normal fashion) → nel solito modo (generally) → normalmente, di norma
in ordinary use → usato/a normalmente

b. (average) → comune, normale (pej) → mediocre, ordinario/a
the ordinary Italian → l'italiano qualunque
the meal was very ordinary → il pranzo non era niente di speciale

2. n out of the ordinary → diverso/a dal solito, fuori dell'ordinario

ordinary

(ˈoːdənəri) adjective

1. usual; normal. She was behaving in a perfectly ordinary manner.

2. not unusually good etc. Some people like his poetry but I think it's rather ordinary.

ˈordinarily adverb

usually.

out of the ordinary

unusual. I don't consider her behaviour at all out of the ordinary.

ordinary

→ عَادِيٌّ obyčejný almindelig gewöhnlich συνηθισμένος corriente tavallinen ordinaire običan ordinario 普通の 보통의 gewoon hverdagslig zwykły comum обычный vanlig อย่างธรรมดา sıradan bình thường 普通的

ordinary

a. ordinario-a, corriente, común.

References in classic literature ?

Now this cannot be done by any arrangement of ordinary words, but by the use of metaphor it can.

View in context

The one thing he now desired with his whole soul was to get away quickly from the terrible sensations amid which he had lived that day and return to ordinary conditions of life and sleep quietly in a room in his own bed.

View in context

An author ought to consider himself, not as a gentleman who gives a private or eleemosynary treat, but rather as one who keeps a public ordinary, at which all persons are welcome for their money.

View in context

In her family's eyes he had no ordinary, definite career and position in society, while his contemporaries by this time, when he was thirty-two, were already, one a colonel, and another a professor, another director of a bank and railways, or president of a board like Oblonsky.

View in context

But ordinary expense, ought to be limited by a man's estate; and governed with such regard, as it be within his compass; and not subject to deceit and abuse of servants; and ordered to the best show, that the bills may be less than the estimation abroad.

View in context

In order to ascertain the real character of the government, it may be considered in relation to the foundation on which it is to be established; to the sources from which its ordinary powers are to be drawn; to the operation of those powers; to the extent of them; and to the authority by which future changes in the government are to be introduced.

View in context

You observe that in the ordinary swimming position of the Sperm Whale, the front of his head presents an almost wholly vertical plane to the water; you observe that the lower part of that front slopes considerably backwards, so as to furnish more of a retreat for the long socket which receives the boom-like lower jaw; you observe that the mouth is entirely under the head, much in the same way, indeed, as though your own mouth were entirely under your chin.

View in context

My next inquiries were to inform me of his ordinary habits of life; of what he did with his money; of who his intimate friends were; and of the sort of terms on which his son, Mr.

View in context

It seems to require no pains to prove that the States ought not to prefer a national Constitution which could only be kept in motion by the instrumentality of a large army continually on foot to execute the ordinary requisitions or decrees of the government.

View in context

How could I (in the ordinary sense of the word) be in love with a woman whose face I had never seen?

View in context

Then, tired of his adventurous, formidable and monstrous life, he longed to be some one "like everybody else." And he became a contractor, like any ordinary contractor, building ordinary houses with ordinary bricks.

View in context

"You were only an ordinary fellow as an eagle; but as an old rooster you are a fowl of incomparable distinction.