I. ˈkämən adjective
( often -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English commun, comon, from Old French commun, comun, from Latin communis — more at mean
1.
a. : of or relating to a community at large (as a family unit, social group, tribe, political organization, or alliance) : generally shared or participated in by individuals of a community : not limited to one person or special group
we, the people of the U.S., in order to … provide for the common defense — U.S. Constitution
a sense of common interest, a guild feeling in reaction against the extreme competitive individualism — J.M.Barzun
b. : known to the community ; especially : notorious as an accustomed general vexation
a common thief
punished as a common scold
maintaining a common nuisance
c. : belonging to or typical of all mankind : shared with all men
our common humanity
our common nature
2.
a. : held, enjoyed, experienced, or participated in equally by a number of individuals : possessed or manifested by more than one individual
a common attribute
a common characteristic
: calling forth, giving rise to as source, or sending out a number of different items : marked by the same relationship to a number of persons or things
our common rights
the sharp teeth common to all cats
streets radiating out from a common center
we will help our allies against our common enemy
b. : marked by or resulting from joint action of two or more parties : practiced or engaged in by two or more equally
in the partnership of our common enterprise we must share in a unified plan — F.D.Roosevelt
our common defense
by common consent the partnership was dissolved
c. : open freely to the individual use of any member of a society or group
“folk-land”, the common property of the tribe — J.R.Green
the front hall, common to all the tenants — Dorothy Sayers
d. : available for indiscriminate or promiscuous use
a common woman
the common cup
e. : belonging to or appointed for the common (sense 6)
f. mathematics : belonging equally to two or more quantities
g. anatomy : formed of or dividing into two or more branches
the common carotid artery
common iliac vessels
3. : ceremonially or religiously unclean or unfit
eating nothing common on the holy day
4.
a. : occurring or appearing frequently especially in the ordinary course of events : not unusual : known or referred to widely or generally because of frequent occurrence
the common is that which is found in the experience of a number of persons — John Dewey
the common judgment which sets tragedy above comedy as the greater art — Samuel Alexander
b. archaic : subject to or ensuing from widespread conversation : recognized or agreed on through copious discussion
young Arthur's death is common in their mouths — Shakespeare
c. chiefly Midland : usual
I'm as well as common — Ellen Glasgow
d. : vernacular — used of plant and animal names
cat is the common name for Felis catus
5.
a. : of, relating to, or typical of the majority or to the many rather than the few : general , prevalent
a sentiment common , but not universal — W.G.Sumner
this revelation has … passed into the common consciousness of the civilized world — W.R.Inge
b. : characterized by a lack of privilege or special status
the common people
was then forced to take on a job as a common laborer
6.
a. : characteristic of a usual type or standard : representative of a type : quite usual and average : entirely ordinary and undistinguished especially by anything superior
the everyday man and woman, the common people — I.M.Price
a common man, no holier than you and I — Thomas Hardy
the great gods … were not exempt from the common lot. They too grew old and died — J.G.Frazer
b. : having no claim or showing no pretense to rank, position, polish, learning, or culture
apart … from the common reader, there is an elite — A.L.Guérard
c. : satisfying accustomed criteria : attaining to an ordinary standard : adequate
the common honesty to face it — W.R.Inge
it was simply common courtesy to help him
d. : falling below ordinary standards : inferior , mean , second-rate
O hard is the bed … and common the blanket and cheap — A.E.Housman
labor was scarce and common at that — American Guide Series: Delaware
e. : falling below accustomed standards of conduct : lacking polish, learning, or taste : marked by or suggestive of the lax, crass, tawdry, earthy, or crude
a very common girl snubbed by the others
as Harris said, in his common vulgar way, the city would have to lump it — J.K.Jerome
f. of lumber : of or relating to several grades that are inferior to finish lumber : defective , knotty
7. now chiefly dialect : easily approachable : unreserved , informal
he's such a nice common fellow
8. : frequently met with and known better than types less often encountered
common salt
the common fern
specifically : most frequent and best known of its kind in a particular region — used of plants and animals
9.
a. of gender
(1) : either masculine or feminine
the gender of F enfant is common
(2) : characterizing words of which in an earlier stage of the language some were masculine and some feminine
Danish has two genders, common and neuter
b. of a substantive : belonging to the common gender
c. of a syllable : either short or long
in Greek prosody a syllable is common that has a short vowel followed by a stop and a liquid or nasal, as the first syllable of teknon
d. of a grammatical case : denoting relations by a single form that in a more highly inflected language might be denoted by two or more different case forms
moon, as subject in “the moon is shining” and as object in “I see the moon”, is in the common case
Synonyms:
ordinary , familiar , popular , vulgar : common , ordinary , and familiar all describe something that is very frequently or generally met with and hence is not at all strange or unusual. common stresses lack of distinguishing or exceptional characteristics
Norris quite definitely identified the romantic with that which is peculiar or special as opposed to the common — M.R.Cohen
and may connote coarseness or lack of refinement
weavers produced fine muslins, gauzes, calicoes, and the common cloths used by the poorer population — C.L.Jones
ordinary applies to what is met with in the routine, regular, or accustomed order of events; it may connote lack of rareness or of superiority
the business of the poet is not to find new emotions, but to use the ordinary ones — T.S.Eliot
it is not an ordinary war. It is a revolution … which threatens all men everywhere — F.D.Roosevelt
the mass of ordinary men, as definitely opposed to exceptional men — W.H.Mallock
familiar applies to what is well known because encountered often and lacks any suggestion of the foreign or exotic
the familiar arrangement of chairs and tables, always the same — Pearl Buck
the curious impression … that she had seen everything and everybody before. Every face was familiar to her — Ellen Glasgow
popular indicates the common due to acceptance, sometimes enthusiastic, by the people, especially commoners; it may imply a lack of qualities pleasing to the elite, upper classes, or learned groups
the popular faith in the omnipotence of education — M.R.Cohen
these brotherhoods were … thoroughly popular, drawing most of their support from the lower classes — W.R.Inge
compromise its values by publishing work that could be described as merely cheap or popular — H.V.Gregory
vulgar is used only occasionally to mean common; it usually suggests meanness, bad taste, crudeness, or crassness
the now vulgar opinion that [Samuel] Johnson was more distinguished as a talker than as a writer — J.W.Krutch
he never could have been vulgar; there is not in the whole range of English literature quite such a gentleman — George Saintsbury
not for the vulgar gaze but for an aristocratic and urbane inspection
Synonym: see in addition reciprocal , universal .
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English commun, from commun, adjective
1.
a. obsolete : the common body of people of a place, community, or polity
b. commons plural but singular or plural in construction : commonalty ; especially : people lacking noble, knightly, or gentle rank
the commons were pleased
2. commons plural
a. singular or plural in construction : provisions for a usually ecclesiastical or collegiate community or company
a modern university commons
b. singular in construction : a common table : a dining hall : a building housing an institution's dining hall
c. singular in construction : rations , fare
were eating an ample commons
shortening the commons when our supply train was intercepted
subsisting on short commons
3. commons plural but singular or plural in construction
a. : the political group or estate comprising the commoners
b. sometimes capitalized : parliamentary representatives of the commoners
c. often capitalized : a lower house of a parliament
4. : the legal right that arises either from a grant or contract or from prescription or operation of a statute and that allows the taking of a profit in another's land in common with the owner or in common with other persons
5.
a. sometimes commons plural : land used in common by people of a community especially for pasture
b. : a stretch of land that is not enclosed or cultivated : waste , heath ; sometimes : a vacant lot
c. sometimes commons plural , chiefly New England : a publicly owned typically grass-covered plot usually in the center of a town or village : an open square
6. sometimes capitalized
a. : a religious service suitable for any of various festivals — compare proper
b. : the ordinary of the mass
c. : the part of a missal or breviary containing the common offices
7. : common stock
8. : a common board or piece of lumber
•
- in common
- out of common
III. intransitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English communen, from commun, adjective
1. obsolete : participate , share
2. obsolete : confer , talk
3. obsolete : to exercise a right together