out of the ordinary
dnˌɛr adjective
1.
of no special quality or interest; commonplace; unexceptional: One novel is brilliant, the other is decidedly ordinary; an ordinary person.
2.
plain or undistinguished: ordinary clothes.
3.
somewhat inferior or below average; mediocre.
4.
customary; usual; normal: We plan to do the ordinary things this weekend.
5.
Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. common, vulgar, or disreputable.
noun
8.
the commonplace or average condition, degree, etc.: ability far above the ordinary.
9.
something regular, customary, or usual.
10.
Ecclesiastical.
a.
an order or form for divine service, especially that for saying Mass.
b.
the service of the Mass exclusive of the canon.
11.
History/Historical. a member of the clergy appointed to prepare condemned prisoners for death.
12.
English Ecclesiastical Law. a bishop, archbishop, or other ecclesiastic or his deputy, in his capacity as an ex officio ecclesiastical authority.
13.
(in some U.S. states) a judge of a court of probate.
14.
British. (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.
15.
a restaurant, public house, or dining room serving all guests and customers the same standard meal or fare.
16.
17.
Heraldry.
a.
any of the simplest and commonest charges, usually having straight or broadly curved edges.
00:10
Out of the ordinary
is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
18.
in ordinary, in regular service: a physician in ordinary to the king.
19.
out of the ordinary,
a.
exceptional; unusual: Having triplets is certainly out of the ordinary.
b.
exceptionally good; unusually good: The food at this restaurant is truly out of the ordinary.
Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English ordinarie (noun and adj.) < Latin ordinārius regular, of the usual order, equivalent to ordin- (see order) + -ārius -ary
1250–1300; Middle English ordinarie (noun and adj.) < Latin ordinārius regular, of the usual order, equivalent to ordin- (see order) + -ārius -ary
Related forms
or·di·nar·i·ness, noun
qua·si-or·di·nar·y, adjective
su·per·or·di·nar·y, adjective
un·or·di·nar·y, adjective
Antonyms
1. extraordinary, unusual, exceptional.
1. extraordinary, unusual, exceptional.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To out of the ordinary
Collins
World English Dictionary
ordinary (ˈɔːdənrɪ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | of common or established type or occurrence |
| 2. | familiar, everyday, or unexceptional |
| 3. | uninteresting or commonplace |
| 4. | having regular or ex officio jurisdiction: an ordinary judge |
| 5. | maths (of a differential equation) containing two variables only and derivatives of one of the variables with respect to the other |
| —n , -naries | |
| 6. | a common or average situation, amount, or degree (esp in the phrase out of the ordinary) |
| 7. | a normal or commonplace person or thing |
| 8. | civil law a judge who exercises jurisdiction in his own right |
| 9. | (usually capital) an ecclesiastic, esp a bishop, holding an office to which certain jurisdictional powers are attached |
| 10. | RC Church |
| a. Compare proper the parts of the Mass that do not vary from day to day | |
| b. a prescribed form of divine service, esp the Mass | |
| 11. | the US name for penny-farthing |
| 12. | heraldry any of several conventional figures, such as the bend, the fesse, and the cross, commonly charged upon shields |
| 13. | history a clergyman who visited condemned prisoners before their death |
| 14. | obsolete (Brit) |
| a. a meal provided regularly at a fixed price | |
| b. the inn providing such meals | |
| 15. | (Brit) in ordinary (used esp in titles) in regular service or attendance: physician in ordinary to the sovereign |
| [C16: (adj) and C13: (some n senses): ultimately from Latin ordinārius orderly, from ordō order] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
ordinary
c.1460, "belonging to the usual order or course," from O.Fr. ordinarie, from L. ordinarius "customary, regular, usual, orderly," from ordo (gen. ordinis) "order" (see order). Various noun usages, dating to c.1380 and common until 19c., now largely extinct except in out of
the ordinary (1893). In British education, Ordinary level "lowest of the three levels of General Certificate of Education" is attested from 1947 (abbrev. O level). Related: Ordinarily.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
out of the ordinary
Unusual, uncommon, exceptional, as in The venison they served was certainly out of the ordinary. This expression sometimes, but not always, indicates that something is better than the usual. However, the negative version, nothing out of the ordinary, usually indicates that something is not special or outstanding, as in It was an interesting lecture, but nothing out of the ordinary.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Matching Quote
Nearby Words
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
