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PlainSpell

ordinary

or·di·na·ry/ˈɔɹdɪnɛɹi/noun, adjective

ordinary is spelled O-R-D-I-N-A-R-Y: 8 letters and 4 syllables (or·di·na·ry). It appears 26 times per million words in written English, the 3,479th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, ordinary means “A person having immediate jurisdiction in a given case of ecclesiastical law, such as the bishop within a diocese” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of ordinary is ordinaries.

How many letters and syllables are in ordinary?

Letters8: O-R-D-I-N-A-R-Y
Syllables4: or·di·na·ry
In writing26 times per million words; the 3,479th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is ordinary?

Ordinary appears 26 times per million words in written English, the 3,479th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce ordinary?

  • UK /ˈɔːdɪnəɹi/
  • UK /ˈɔːdənɹi/
  • US /ˈɔɹdɪnɛɹi/

Ordinary has 4 syllables, split or·di·na·ry in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-ordinary.ogg, En-au-ordinary.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with ordinary?

One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as ordinary from its last stressed vowel (/ɔɹdɪnɛɹi/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of ordinary

  • ordinaries plural
  • more ordinary comparative
  • most ordinary superlative

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does ordinary mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A person having immediate jurisdiction in a given case of ecclesiastical law, such as the bishop within a diocese.

  2. 2

    obsoleteA courier; someone delivering mail or post.

    I […] will lay to till you come within hail […] but pray respond by the first ordinary.

  3. 3

    A judge with the authority to deal with cases himself or herself rather than by delegation.

  4. 4

    The chaplain of Newgate prison, who prepared condemned prisoners for death.

  5. 5

    obsoleteCustomary fare, one's regular daily allowance of food; (hence) a regular portion or allowance.

  6. 6

    A meal provided for a set price at an eating establishment.

    Here he recommended me to fix my board, there being an excellent ordinary daily at two o'clock, at which I might dine or not as I pleased.

  7. 7

    archaicA place where such meals are served; a public tavern, inn.

  8. 8

    One of the standard geometric designs placed across the center of a coat of arms, such as a pale or fess.

adjective

  1. 1

    Having regular jurisdiction; now only used in certain phrases.

  2. 2

    Being part of the natural order of things; normal, customary, routine.

    On an ordinary day I wake up at nine o'clock, work for six hours, and then go to the gym.

  3. 3

    Having no special characteristics or function; everyday, common, mundane; often deprecatory.

    I live a very ordinary life most of the time, but every year I spend a week in Antarctica.

  4. 4

    AustraliacolloquialinformalBad or undesirable.

noun

as Ordinary
  1. 1

    The part of the Roman Catholic Mass that is the same every day

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Ordinary in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchpièce (standard geometric design in heraldics), ordinaire (normal, routine), quelconque (having no special characteristics or function…)
GermanHeroldsbild (standard geometric design in heraldics), gewöhnlich, normal (normal, routine)
Spanishpieza (standard geometric design in heraldics), ordinario (normal, routine), del montón (having no special characteristics or function…)
Portugueseordinário, normal (normal, routine)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does ordinary come from?

From Anglo-Norman ordenarie, ordenaire et al., Middle French ordinaire, and their source, Medieval Latin ordinarius, noun use of Latin ōrdinārius (“regular, orderly”), from ōrdō (“order”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after ordinary