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common

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English

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Etymology

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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.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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common (comparative more common or commoner, superlative most common or commonest)

  1. Mutual; shared by more than one.
    The two competitors have the common aim of winning the championship.
    Winning the championship is an aim common to the two competitors.
    • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XIX, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
      Nothing was too small to receive attention, if a supervising eye could suggest improvements likely to conduce to the common welfare. Mr. Gordon Burnage, for instance, personally visited dust-bins and back premises, accompanied by a sort of village bailiff, going his round like a commanding officer doing billets.
    • 1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 169:
      They shared a common dread that he would begin moaning.
  2. Of a quality: existing among virtually all people; universal.
    common knowledge, common decency, common sense
  3. Occurring or happening regularly or frequently; usual.
    It is common to find sharks off this coast.
    • 1530?, Robert Wyer, This boke is named the beaulte of women : translated out of Frenche in to Englysshe., page 8:
      Thus it is sayde in the cōmon vsage.
      Thus it is said in the common usage.
    • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto VI”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC:
      That loss is common would not make
      ⁠My own less bitter, rather more:
      ⁠Too common! Never morning wore
      To evening, but some heart did break.
    • 2013 May-June, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 193:
      Bats host many high-profile viruses that can infect humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola. A recent study explored the ecological variables that may contribute to bats’ propensity to harbor such zoonotic diseases by comparing them with another order of common reservoir hosts: rodents.
  4. Found in large numbers or in a large quantity; usual.
    "Commoner" used to be commoner, but "more common" is now more common.
    Sharks are common in these waters.
    It differs from the common blackbird in the size of its beak.
    • 2012 March, Lee A. Groat, “Gemstones”, in American Scientist‎[1], volume 100, number 2, archived from the original on 14 June 2012, page 128:
      Although there are dozens of different types of gems, among the best known and most important are […] . (Common gem materials not addressed in this article include amber, amethyst, chalcedony, garnet, lazurite, malachite, opals, peridot, rhodonite, spinel, tourmaline, turquoise and zircon.)
    • 2019 February 3, “UN Study: China, US, Japan Lead World AI Development”, in Voice of America‎[2], archived from the original on 7 February 2019:
      Machine learning was the most common method of AI listed in patent requests.
    • 2023 January 3, Dacher Keltner, “The Quiet Profundity of Everyday Awe”, in The Atlantic‎[3], Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-03-14:
      In our daily-diary studies, one source of awe was by far the most common: other people. Regular acts of courage—bystanders defusing fights, subordinates standing up to abusive power holders—inspired awe.
  5. Simple, ordinary or vulgar.
    the common folk
    • 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:
      This fact was infamous / And ill beseeming any common man, / Much more a knight, a captain and a leader.
    • 1768, Arthur Murphy, Zenobia:
      above the vulgar flight of common souls
    • 1838, Boz [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], “The Burglary”, in Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy’s Progress. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 35:
      Mr. Crackit (for he it was) had no very great quantity of hair, either upon his head or face, but what he had was of a reddish dye, and tortured into long corkscrew curls, through which he occasionally thrust some very dirty fingers ornamented with large common rings.
    • 1873, Jules Verne, chapter I, in [anonymous], transl., Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Seas; […], James R. Osgood edition, Boston, Mass.: Geo[rge] M[urray] Smith & Co., →OCLC, part I, page 3:
      Merchants, common sailors, captains of vessels, skippers, […] naval officers of all countries, and the Governments of several states on the two continents, were deeply interested in the matter.
    • 1893, Florian Cajori, A History of Mathematics:
      If it be asked wherein the utility of some modern extensions of mathematics lies, it must be acknowledged that it is at present difficult to see how they are ever to become applicable to questions of common life or physical science.
    • 1914 November, Louis Joseph Vance, “An Outsider […]”, in Munsey’s Magazine, volume LIII, number II, New York, N.Y.: The Frank A[ndrew] Munsey Company, […], published 1915, →OCLC, chapter III (Accessory After the Fact), page 382, column 2:
      She was frankly disappointed. For some reason she had expected to discover a burglar of one or another accepted type—either a dashing cracksman in full-blown evening dress, lithe, polished, pantherish, or a common yegg, a red-eyed, unshaven, burly brute in the rags and tatters of a tramp.
  6. (taxonomy) As part of the vernacular name of a species, usually denoting that it is abundant or widely known.
    the common daisy (Bellis perennis)
  7. (taxonomy) Vernacular, referring to the name of a kind of plant or animal.
    common name vs. scientific name.
  8. (law) Arising from use or tradition, as opposed to being created by a legislative body.
    common law
  9. (grammar) Of, pertaining or belonging to the common gender.
  10. (grammar) Of or pertaining to common nouns as opposed to proper nouns.
  11. (obsolete) Profane; polluted.
  12. (obsolete) Given to lewd habits; prostitute.

Synonyms

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Antonyms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

See also

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Noun

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common (plural commons)

  1. Mutual good, shared by more than one.
  2. A tract of land in common ownership; common land.
    Synonym: (sg) commons
    • 1944, Miles Burton, chapter 5, in The Three Corpse Trick:
      The hovel stood in the centre of what had once been a vegetable garden, but was now a patch of rank weeds. Surrounding this, almost like a zareba, was an irregular ring of gorse and brambles, an unclaimed vestige of the original common.
    • 1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, pages 264-265:
      Throughout the land there is a great variation in the shape and size of village greens, from the many of pocket-handkerchief size to a roadside common of 20 acres or more - as at Lindfield in West Sussex.
  3. The people; the community.
  4. (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.

Translations

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Verb

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common (third-person singular simple present commons, present participle commoning, simple past and past participle commoned)

  1. (obsolete) To communicate (something).
  2. (obsolete) To converse, talk.
  3. (obsolete) To have sex.
  4. (obsolete) To participate.
  5. (obsolete) To have a joint right with others in common ground.
  6. (obsolete) To board together; to eat at a table in common.

Derived terms

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Terms derived from the adjective, noun, or verb common
Place names with affix "Common"

References

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Chinese

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Etymology

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From English common.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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common

  1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) common; usual; widespread

See also

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References

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Middle English

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Adjective

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common

  1. (Late Middle English) Alternative form of comun
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