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"ordinary" in seven languages

Meaningordinary

Spanish

ordinario

/oɾdiˈnaɾjo/

learned

Said of a person it means 'coarse, vulgar'; 'ordinary' is usually normal or corriente.

French

ordinaire

/ɔʁdinɛʁ/

learned

Italian

ordinario

/ordiˈnarjo/

learned

Portuguese

ordinário

/ohdʒiˈnaɾju/

learned

Said of a person, ordinário is an insult: vulgar, rotten.

Romanian

obișnuit

/obiʃnuˈit/

other source · obișnui 'to get used to', from Slavic (cf. Old Church Slavonic obyknǫti)

Ordinar mostly means vulgar; the official sense survives in ședință ordinară.

Catalan

ordinari

/uɾdiˈnaɾi/

learned

Like Portuguese, it can also mean vulgar.

English

ordinary

/ˈɔɹdənɛɹi/

from Latin/French · Latin ORDINĀRIUS, partly via Old French

English → ItalianordinaryordinarioCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

ORDINĀRIUM‘in the usual order (ORDŌ 'row, order')’

All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.

The story

Learned everywhere, so the -ĀRIUS ending stays visible (French -aire, not the popular -ier). Watch Spanish ordinario about a person: it means 'coarse', not 'average'.

English relatives: order, ordinal, extraordinary

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In a sentence

  • esEl consejo se reúne en sesión ordinaria cada mes.
  • frLe conseil se réunit en session ordinaire chaque mois.
  • itIl consiglio si riunisce in sessione ordinaria ogni mese.
  • ptO conselho se reúne em sessão ordinária todo mês.
  • roConsiliul se întrunește lunar în ședință ordinară.
  • caEl consell es reuneix en sessió ordinària cada mes.
  • enThe council meets in ordinary session every month.

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