Her. [f. SUB- 5 + ORDINARY sb.] A charge of frequent occurrence but considered as of less importance than an ordinary; a subordinate ordinary.
c. 1791. Encycl. Brit. (1797), VIII. 445/2. All charges are distinguished by the names of honorable ordinaries, subordinaries, and common charges.
1842. Brande, Dict. Sci., etc. 1183/2. According to some writers … an ordinary, when it comprises less than one fifth of the whole shield, is termed subordinary.
1880. Encycl. Brit., XI. 694/1. Very many both of these [ordinaries] and of the subordinaries … are very frequent constituents in mouldings in the Norman style of architecture.
