Ordnance

How to spell ordnance

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce ordnance

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does ordnance mean?

1. nounMilitary weapons, ammunition, and related equipment, especially artillery and explosive munitions.

Ordnance in a sentence

• The bomb disposal team cleared the unexploded ordnance from the field.

• The army stored its heavy ordnance in a reinforced depot.

Where does ordnance come from?

Language of origin: French

Ordnance began life as nothing more than a worn-down spelling of 'ordinance', which came into English in the 1300s from the Old French ordenance, meaning an arrangement, a command, or a regulation. That French word traced back to the Latin ordinare, 'to set in order or arrange', built on ordo, 'order, row, rank'. In the late Middle Ages 'ordinance' picked up a military sense, referring to the arranging or equipping of armies and, in particular, to artillery and the engines of war. Over time the spelling and pronunciation of this military branch lost the middle syllable and settled into the shorter 'ordnance', leaving a separate word 'ordinance' for laws and regulations. The famous British Ordnance Survey, the national mapping agency, owes its name to this military root, since it grew out of a military survey of the Scottish Highlands; that history is a handy reminder that ordnance (weapons) drops the 'i' that ordinance (a law) keeps.

How the word is built

• ord- (from Latin ordinare, to arrange/set in order)
• -nance (noun-forming suffix); a contracted form of 'ordinance'