ordinary: Meaning and Definition of

or•di•nar•y

Pronunciation: (ôr'dn-er"ē), [key]
— adj., n., pl. -nar•ies.
—adj.
  1. of no special quality or interest; commonplace; unexceptional: One novel is brilliant, the other is decidedly ordinary; an ordinary person.
  2. plain or undistinguished: ordinary clothes.
  3. somewhat inferior or below average; mediocre.
  4. customary; usual; normal: We plan to do the ordinary things this weekend.
  5. common, vulgar, or disreputable.
  6. (of jurisdiction) immediate, as contrasted with something that is delegated.
  7. (of officials) belonging to the regular staff or the fully recognized class.
—n.
  1. the commonplace or average condition, degree, etc.: ability far above the ordinary.
  2. something regular, customary, or usual.
    1. an order or form for divine service, esp. that for saying Mass.
    2. the service of the Mass exclusive of the canon.
  3. a member of the clergy appointed to prepare condemned prisoners for death.
  4. a bishop, archbishop, or other ecclesiastic or his deputy, in his capacity as an ex officio ecclesiastical authority.
  5. (in some U.S. states) a judge of a court of probate.
  6. (in a restaurant or inn) a complete meal in which all courses are included at one fixed price, as opposed to à la carte service.
  7. a restaurant, public house, or dining room serving all guests and customers the same standard meal or fare.
  8. a high bicycle of an early type, with one large wheel in front and one small wheel behind.
    1. any of the simplest and commonest charges, usually having straight or broadly curved edges.
    2. Seehonorable ordinary.
  9. in regular service: a physician in ordinary to the king.
  10. Having triplets is certainly out of the ordinary.
    1. exceptional; unusual:Having triplets is certainly out of the ordinary.
    2. exceptionally good; unusually good:The food at this restaurant is truly out of the ordinary.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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