Etymograph

English

ordonnance

Ordonnance comes from French ordonnance ‘prescription’, from Middle French ordonner ‘to command’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- ‘to fit, to fix, to put together, to slot’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂er-1‘to fit, to fix, to put together, to slot’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ordō1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEōrdō1‘order’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEordino2as ordināre‘to arrange, put in order, organize’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400ordiner2
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600ordonner2‘to command’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentordonner3‘to prescribe’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentordonnance4‘prescription’
  9. Englishtodayordonnance4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin ordino
  2. 2 Wiktionary, French ordonner
  3. 3 Wiktionary, French ordonnance
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English ordonnance

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂er-Wiktionary, Latin ordino‘to fit, to fix, to put together, to slot’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ordōWiktionary, Latin ordinoreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEōrdōWiktionary, Latin ordino‘order’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEordinoWiktionary, French ordonneras ordināre‘to arrange, put in order, organize’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400ordinerWiktionary, French ordonner
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600ordonnerWiktionary, French ordonner‘to command’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentordonnerWiktionary, French ordonnance‘to prescribe’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentordonnanceWiktionary, English ordonnance‘prescription’
  9. EnglishtodayordonnanceWiktionary, English ordonnance

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- ‘to fit, to fix, to put together, to slot’

art, ready, reason, rate, article, army, artist, arm, ratio, alarm, harmony, armor, arthritis, articulate, arithmetic, aristocratic, anarchy, harmonic, inertia, artisan, inert, armament, harmonious, articulation, armadillo, rta, armature, harmonize, rime, artifice, archon, harmonium, arche, 71 more

through Proto-Italic *ordō

order

through Latin ōrdō ‘order’

ordinary, ornament, ornate, adorn, inordinate, ordinal, orn, 7 more

through Latin ordino ‘to arrange, put in order, organize’

coordinate, coordination, subordinate, ordination, ordinate, ordinator, 1 more

through Old French ordiner

ordain

Today it means

noun The disposition of the parts of any composition with regard to one another and the whole.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ordonnance”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin ordino, French ordonner, French ordonnance. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- / ordonnance

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