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
.
ordnance
(
countable
and
uncountable
,
plural
ordnances
)
- Military
equipment, especially
weapons
and
ammunition
.
- 1624
,
John Donne
,
Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions
, Meditation XVI., in
The Complete Poetry and Selected Prose of John Donne
, ed. Charles M. Coffin, New York: Modern Library (1952), pp. 438-40:
- When the Turkes took Constantinople, they melted the Bells into
Ordnance
; I have heard both Bells and
Ordnance
, but never been so much affected with those, as with these Bells.
- Artillery
.
- Although prescriptive authorities say this word should now be pronounced with only two syllables, the original pronunciation with three syllables (like
ordinance
, from which this word derives) remains very common. (Shakespeare used both.
[1]
[2]
)