or•di•nar•y
Pronunciation: (ôr'dn-er"ē), [key]
— adj., n., pl. -nar•ies.
—adj.
- of no special quality or interest; commonplace; unexceptional: One novel is brilliant, the other is decidedly ordinary; an ordinary person.
- plain or undistinguished: ordinary clothes.
- somewhat inferior or below average; mediocre.
- customary; usual; normal: We plan to do the ordinary things this weekend.
- common, vulgar, or disreputable.
- (of jurisdiction) immediate, as contrasted with something that is delegated.
- (of officials) belonging to the regular staff or the fully recognized class.
—n.
- the commonplace or average condition, degree, etc.: ability far above the ordinary.
- something regular, customary, or usual.
-
- an order or form for divine service, esp. that for saying Mass.
- the service of the Mass exclusive of the canon.
- a member of the clergy appointed to prepare condemned prisoners for death.
- a bishop, archbishop, or other ecclesiastic or his deputy, in his capacity as an ex officio ecclesiastical authority.
- (in some U.S. states) a judge of a court of probate.
- (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.
- a restaurant, public house, or dining room serving all guests and customers the same standard meal or fare.
- a high bicycle of an early type, with one large wheel in front and one small wheel behind.
-
- any of the simplest and commonest charges, usually having straight or broadly curved edges.
- Seehonorable ordinary.
- in regular service: a physician in ordinary to the king.
- Having triplets is certainly out of the ordinary.
- exceptional; unusual:Having triplets is certainly out of the ordinary.
- 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.