common
UK /ˈkɒmən/ · US /ˈkɑmən/ adjective, noun, verb, proper noun
Forms commoner commonest commons commoning commoned
- adjective Mutual; shared by more than one. “The two competitors have the common aim of winning the championship.”
- adjective (of a quality) Existing among virtually all people; universal. “common knowledge, common decency, common sense”
- adjective Occurring or happening regularly or frequently; usual. “It is common to find sharks off this coast.”
- adjective Found in large numbers or in a large quantity; usual. “"Commoner" used to be commoner, but "more common" is now more common.”
- adjective Simple, ordinary or vulgar. “the common folk”
- adjective (taxonomy) As part of the vernacular name of a species, usually denoting that it is abundant or widely known. “the common daisy (Bellis perennis)”
- adjective (taxonomy) Vernacular, referring to the name of a kind of plant or animal.
- adjective (law) Arising from use or tradition, as opposed to being created by a legislative body. “common law”
- noun Mutual good, shared by more than one.
- noun A tract of land in common ownership; common land.
- noun The people; the community.
- noun (law) The right of taking a profit in the land of another, in common either with the owner or with other persons; so called from the community of interest which arises between the claimant of the right and the owner of the soil, or between the claimants and other commoners entitled to the same right.
- verb (obsolete) To communicate (something).
- verb (obsolete) To converse, talk.
- verb (obsolete) To have sex.
- verb (obsolete) To participate.
- verb (obsolete) To have a joint right with others in common ground.
- verb (obsolete) To board together; to eat at a table in common.
- proper noun A surname.
- proper noun (science fiction, fantasy) Denoting the name of a universal language in various works.
Synonyms
mutual shared collective corporate joint united catholic general ecumenical generic nonsingular nonspecific universal unparticular unsingular unspecific normal ordinary standard usual park commons green vernacular vulgar plebeian unwashed coarse rough-cut uncouth
Antonyms
personal individual peculiar first and last lone one one and only only single singular sole solitary uncommon
Etymology
From Middle English comun, from Anglo-Norman comun, from Old French comun (rare in the Gallo-Romance languages, but reinforced as a Carolingian calque of Proto-West Germanic *gamainī (“common”) in Old French), from Latin commūnis (“common, public, general”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱom-moy-ni-s (“held in common”), from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“to exchange, change”). Displaced native Middle English imene, ȝemǣne (“common, general, universal”) (from Old English ġemǣne (“common, universal”)), Middle English mene, mǣne (“mean, common”) (also from Old English ġemǣne (“common, universal”)), Middle English samen, somen (“in common, together”) (from Old English samen (“together”)). Doublet of gmina and mean.
Probably a variant of Cumming or a reduced form of McCommon.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Belonging or relating equally, or similary, to more than one; as, you and I have a common interest in the property.
- adjective Belonging to or shared by, affecting or serving, all the members of a class, consired together; general; public; as, propertis common to all plants; the common schools; the Book of Common Prayer.
- noun The people; the community. [Obs.] "The weal o' the common." Shak.
- noun An inclosed or uninclosed tract of ground for pleasure, for pasturage, etc., the use of which belongs to the public; or to a number of persons.
Etymology [OE. commun, comon, OF. comun, F. commun, fr. L. communis; com- + munis ready to be of service; cf. Skr. mi to make fast, set up, build, Coth. gamains common, G. gemein, and E. mean low, common. Cf. Immunity, Commune, n. & v.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “common”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details