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adj. 2. 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 the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] or′di·nari·ness n. |
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