WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Ord"nance
Part of Speech : n.
Etymology : [From OE. ordenance, referring orig. to the bore or size of the cannon. See Ordinance.]
Definition : Defn: Heavy weapons of warfare; cannon, or great guns, mortars, and howitzers; artillery; sometimes, a general term for all weapons and appliances used in war. All the battlements their ordnance fire. Shak. Then you may hear afar off the awful roar of his [Rufus Choate's] rifled ordnance. E. Ererett. Ordnance survey, the official survey of Great Britain and Ireland, conducted by the ordnance department.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913