ordinary English · revision 5305

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1292|origins=la ōrdō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈɔː.dən.ər.i/, /ˈɔː.dɪ.nər.i/, US /ˈɔːr.dən.er.i/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|ordinarie]], [[bor|fro|ordinarie]] and directly from [[la|ōrdinārius|t=customary, regular, orderly]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) from [[m|la|ōrdō|t=row, rank, order]], genitive ōrdinis.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The noun came partly through Old French from Medieval Latin ōrdinārius, a judge with jurisdiction of his own.^(NODE 1998)^(SOED 2002) It is related to [[order]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The noun, a church official with jurisdiction of his own, such as a bishop in his diocese, is from 1292.^(OED 1989) The adjective, having authority by ecclesiastical office, is from before 1402, and “regular, usual” from about 1400.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ “Common, not distinguished in any way” is from the 1580s.^(Etymonline) The noun had many uses from the late 14th century until the 19th that are now mostly extinct,^(Etymonline) such as the chaplain of Newgate prison (1696) and a courier carrying letters at regular intervals (1667).^(OED 1989) The noun survives in ''out of the ordinary'' (1893), where it means the regular or customary course.^(Etymonline) In British education the ''Ordinary level'' (O level) of the General Certificate of Education is from 1947.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1292 – noun, a church judge.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1400 – usual, regular.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1580s – commonplace.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1893 – ''out of the ordinary''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1947 – Ordinary level.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Usual or normal, not special.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Plain and uninteresting; [[commonplace]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(law)'' Having jurisdiction by right of office.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(church)'' A [[bishop]] or other official with authority in his own right.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A meal served at a fixed price, or an inn serving it.^(Klein 1966)^(HTOED)

+ # ''(heraldry)'' One of the simplest and commonest [[charge|alt=charges]] on a shield.^(HTOED)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ordinariness]]

+ * [[ordinarily]]

+ * [[superordinary]]

+ * [[unordinary]]

+ * [[ornery]]

+ * [[ordinary differential equation]]

+ * [[ordinary seaman]]

+ * [[ordinary share]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[order]]

+ * [[extraordinary]]

+ * [[ordinal]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}