ordinario

Forms

ordinario (feminine ordinaria, masculine plural ordinari, feminine plural ordinarie)^[1]

Etymology

It is learned: it is borrowed from Latin ōrdinārius (“in accordance with order; regular”), taken over from Latin in the written language.^[2][3][1][4] The Latin adjective is formed ōrdō (“order, arrangement”) with the suffix -ārius.^[5][1][6] The same noun gave the Italian ordine, and DELI treats ordinario under that word.^[7][2]

DEI dates the Church noun, borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin, to the 14th century, and notes that the same Latin word gave French ordinaire and English ordinary.^[8] In Medieval Latin the canons of a collegiate church were called ordinariī in the 8th to 10th centuries.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

DEI places the earliest use in the 14th century, as a noun of Church language: the bishop, or his vicar general, who holds ordinary jurisdiction in a diocese.^[8] Tommaseo quotes this sense from the 14th-century Maestruzzo, where those absolved by the Holy See must present themselves agli ordinarii.^[9] DELI's first dated records are later: the phrase per ordinario “usually” in Machiavelli (before 1527) and the noun “custom, normal course” in Giovanni Della Casa (before 1556).^[7][3]

Semantic evolution

In the 16th century the noun meant what one usually does: Della Casa writes that he does not ask to be taken out of l'ordinario.^[7][9] It also named the regular courier and his scheduled run, against the straordinario that left on no fixed day, and a magistrate who judged by the common rules (1583).^[10][9] In the 17th century it was also the usual dinner at a fixed price.^[10]

The adjective is recorded from Florio's dictionary of 1598 in the sense “within the norm, customary”.^[7] From “normal” it moved to “of poor quality”, recorded before 1698 in Francesco Redi, and to “coarse, unrefined”, in Tommaseo's dictionary of 1869.^[7] The sense “belonging to the permanent staff” is quoted from 1661, and survives in professore ordinario, the tenured professor of the highest rank.^[7][11][4] The adverbial d'ordinario “normally” is recorded in 1891.^[7]

In Neapolitan the noun ordinàrio is a women's word for menstruation, understood as “the rule”.^[12]

Timeline

• 14th century – DEI dates the Church noun, the bishop with ordinary jurisdiction.^[8]
• Before 1527 – Machiavelli uses per ordinario “usually”.^[7]
• Before 1556 – Giovanni Della Casa uses the noun for “custom, normal course”.^[7][3]
• 1583 – The noun is recorded for a magistrate who judges by the common rules.^[10]
• 1598 – Florio records the adjective “customary, normal”.^[7]
• 1661 – The sense “on the permanent staff” is quoted.^[7]
• Before 1698 – Francesco Redi uses it for things of poor quality.^[7]
• 1869 – Tommaseo's dictionary records the sense “coarse, rough”.^[7]
• 1891 – D'ordinario “normally” is recorded.^[7]
• 1950 – Ordinario militare, the bishop of the armed forces, is recorded.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. ordinary, usual: within the norm, not out of the common run, as opposed to straordinario: Dopo le vacanze riprendiamo la vita ordinaria.^[3][6][11]
2. Held at regular intervals, on fixed days: seduta ordinaria (a regular session).^[3][6][13]
3. Of a fare or ticket, at the full price, without any reduction.^[3][6]
4. Holding an office permanently, on the permanent staff: professore ordinario (full professor), giudice ordinario.^[3][13][4]
5. Of a thing, of poor quality, cheap and shoddy: Quel cappotto è di una lana molto ordinaria.^[3][6][11]
6. Of a person or manners, coarse, vulgar, unrefined.^[3][6][11]
7. Commonplace, unremarkable.^[3]
8. (law) Of an appeal, that can be made against a ruling not yet final.^[13][14]

Noun

1. What is usual or normal: più dell'ordinario (more than usual), d'ordinario (usually), fuori dell'ordinario (out of the ordinary).^[11][7][3]
2. (Christianity) The bishop who heads a diocese, or another prelate with ordinary jurisdiction: ordinario diocesano, ordinario militare.^[11][7][9]
3. (education) A full professor at a university: È ordinario di storia medievale.^[11][1]
4. (liturgy) The fixed parts of the Mass and the breviary.^[11]

Word family

• ordinariamente
• ordinariato
• ordinarietà
• straordinario

Related words

• ordine
• Latin ordinarius
• French ordinaire
• English ordinary

Usage notes

DEI lists several older nouns of the same form: a centurion of the first cohort or the first oarsman of a galley (a Latinism), a regular courier, and a fixed-price meal.^[8][10] The plural of the adjective and noun is ordinari.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
8. ^ a b c d e Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2669
9. ^ a b c d Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
10. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2670
11. ^ a b c d e f g h Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
12. ^ Cortelazzo, Manlio; Marcato, Carla (1998), I dialetti italiani: dizionario etimologico, Torino: UTET, p. 359
13. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli