From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Ordinance \Or"di*nance\, n. [OE. ordenance, OF. ordenance, F.
ordonnance. See Ordain, and cf. Ordnance, Ordonnance.]
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1. Orderly arrangement; preparation; provision. [Obs.]
--Spenser.
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They had made their ordinance
Of victual, and of other purveyance. --Chaucer.
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2. A rule established by authority; a permanent rule of
action; a statute, law, regulation, rescript, or accepted
usage; an edict or decree; esp., a local law enacted by a
municipal government; as, a municipal ordinance.
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Thou wilt die by God's just ordinance. --Shak.
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By custom and the ordinance of times. --Shak.
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Walking in all the commandments and ordinances of
the Lord blameless. --Luke i. 6.
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Note: Acts of Parliament are sometimes called ordinances;
also, certain colonial laws and certain acts of
Congress under Confederation; as, the ordinance of 1787
for the government of the territory of the United
States northwest of the Ohio River; the colonial
ordinance of 1641, or 1647. This word is often used in
Scripture in the sense of a law or statute of sovereign
power. --Ex. xv. 25. --Num. x. 8. --Ezra iii. 10. Its
most frequent application now in the United States is
to laws and regulations of municipal corporations.
--Wharton (Law Dict.).
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3. (Eccl.) An established rite or ceremony.
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4. Rank; order; station. [Obs.] --Shak.
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5. [See Ordnance.] Ordnance; cannon. [Obs.] --Shak.
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From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
ordinance
n 1: an authoritative rule [syn: regulation, ordinance]
2: a statute enacted by a city government
3: the act of ordaining; the act of conferring (or receiving)
holy orders; "the rabbi's family was present for his
ordination" [syn: ordination, ordinance]