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(A proofreader's note about “ordinance” and “ordnance”)
With “put in order” at its base,
Word “ordinance” arose:
Decree or practice, law, or fate,
Provisions for martial blows.
The regimented life of troops,
All ready and precise,
Would clip the word and “ordnance” make,
Thus cut and trim to rights.
The taller word here “ordinance”
Produced the shorter child.
Decreed it was through natural speech,
The “i” let go as wild.
Hence “ordnance” from “ordinance”
For military tools was birthed;
In vivo not in vitro made,
With “in” a clue unearthed.
“By ordinance, each village trained
With ordnance on hand.
The natives claimed it preordained,
From gods an order grand.”