ordinance

[ awr-dn-uhns ]
/ ˈɔr dn əns /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR ordinance ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an authoritative rule or law; a decree or command.
a public injunction or regulation: a city ordinance against excessive horn blowing.
something believed to have been ordained, as by a deity or destiny.
Ecclesiastical.
  1. an established rite or ceremony.
  2. a sacrament.
  3. the communion.

Origin of ordinance

1275–1325; Middle English ordinaunce (< Old French ordenance) < Medieval Latin ordinantia, derivative of Latin ordinant- (stem of ordināns), present participle of ordināre to arrange. See ordination, -ance

SYNONYMS FOR ordinance

1, 2 order.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR ordinance ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM ordinance

pre·or·di·nance, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH ordinance

ordinance ordnance ordonnance

Words nearby ordinance

orders, ordinal, ordinal number, ordinal numbers, ordinal scale, ordinance, ordinand, ordinariate, ordinarily, ordinary, ordinary differential equation

Words related to ordinance

edict, statute, direction, code, dictum, enactment, prescript, canon, decree, fiat, precept, regulation, command, ruling, mandate, order, authorization, ukase, reg

Example sentences from the Web for ordinance

British Dictionary definitions for ordinance

ordinance
/ (ˈɔːdɪnəns) /

noun

an authoritative regulation, decree, law, or practice

Word Origin for ordinance

C14: from Old French ordenance, from Latin ordināre to set in order