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ordinance

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or⋅di⋅nance

  [awr-dn-uhns]
Use ordinance in a Sentence
–noun
1. an authoritative rule or law; a decree or command.
2. a public injunction or regulation: a city ordinance against excessive horn blowing.
3. something believed to have been ordained, as by a deity or destiny.
4. Ecclesiastical.
a. an established rite or ceremony.
b. a sacrament.
c. the communion.
Origin:
1275–1325; ME ordinaunce (< OF ordenance) < ML ordinantia, deriv. of L ordinant- (s. of ordināns), prp. of ordināre to arrange. See ordination, -ance

Synonyms:
1,2. order.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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or·di·nance   (ôr'dn-əns)   
n.  

  1. An authoritative command or order.

  2. A custom or practice established by long usage.

  3. A Christian rite, especially the Eucharist.

  4. A statute or regulation, especially one enacted by a city government.


[Middle English ordinaunce, from Old French ordenance, from Medieval Latin ōrdinantia, from Latin ōrdināns, ōrdinant-, present participle of ōrdināre, to ordain, from ōrdō, ōrdin-, order; see ar- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

ordinance 
1303, "an authoritative direction, decree, or command" (narrower or more transitory than a law), from O.Fr. ordenance, from M.L. ordinantia, from L. ordinantem (nom. ordinans), prp. of ordinare "put in order" (see ordain). By c.1330 senses had emerged of "arrangement in ranks or rows" (especially in order of battle), also "warlike provisions, equipment" (a sense now in ordnance, q.v.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: or·di·nance
Pronunciation: 'ord-&n-&ns
Function: noun
: an authoritative decree or law; especially : a municipal regulation ordinance>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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