[awr-dn-uh
ns] 
| 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.
|
| or·di·nance (ôr'dn-əns) n.
[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.] |