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''ordnance'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20260313192153-00-⌔

ordnance - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

Noun

ordnance (countable and uncountable, plural ordnances)

  • (collective) Military equipment, especially weapons and ammunition.
    • ✤ When the Turkes tooke Conſtantinople, they melted the Bells into Ordnance; I haue heard both Bells and Ordnance, but neuer been ſo much affected with thoſe, as with theſe Bells.1
    • ✤ What Mr. Vance’s trip made clear is that both sides think they emerged as the victor of the first round: the United States by dropping so much ordnance on Iran, the Iranians by surviving. Neither seems in the mood for compromise.2
  • Artillery.
    • ✤ Let all the Battlements their Ordinance fire,/The King shal drinke to Hamlets better breath,3
    • ✤ From the belfries far and near the funereal deathbell tolled unceasingly while all around the gloomy precincts rolled the ominous warning of a hundred muffled drums punctuated by the hollow booming of pieces of ordnance.4

Etymology

A reduced form of ordinance, which is attested from the late 14th century in the sense of “military equipment or provisions”. The sense of “artillery” arises in the early 15th century, the sense “military logistics” in the late 15th century. The shortened form ordnance arises by the 17th century, now often distinguished in writing from the other meanings of ordinance. Also doublet of ordonnance.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) enPR: ôrdʹnəns, IPA: /ˈɔːdnəns/, (often)/ˈɔːdɪnəns/
    • Audio (Southern England): 🔊
  • (US) enPR: ôrdʹnəns, IPA: /ˈoɹdnəns/, (very often)/ˈoɹdɪnəns/
  • Audio (US): 🔊
  • Homophone: ordinance (some pronunciations)

Printed 2026-06-28.

(echo:: @ ⌗)

Footnotes

  1. 1624, John Donne, chapter XVI, in Deuotions upon Emergent Occasions, and Seuerall Steps in My Sicknes: […], London: […] A[ugustine] M[atthews] for Thomas Iones, →OCLC, page 389: ↩

  2. 2026 April 12, Tyler Pager, David E. Sanger, “What Now? Vance Leaves Iran Talks Without a Deal.”, in The New York Times ‎, →ISSN: ↩

  3. c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]: ↩

  4. 1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 12: Cyclops]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC, part II[Odyssey], pages 293–294: ↩

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Secondary

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