English
Etymology
From Middle English comun , from (deprecated template usage ) [etyl] Lua error in Module:parameters at line 95 : Parameter 1 should be a valid language code; the value "xno" is not valid. See WT:LOL . comun , from Old French comun (rare in the Gallo-Romance languages , but reinforced as a Carolingian calque of Lua error in Module:links at line 216 : The specified language Frankish is unattested, while the given word is not marked with '*' to indicate that it is reconstructed. in (deprecated template usage ) [etyl] Old French ), from Latin commūnis ( “ common, public, general ” ) , from (deprecated template usage ) [etyl] Proto-Indo-European *ḱom-moy-ni- ( “ held in common ” ) . 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 ” ) ).
Pronunciation
Adjective
common (comparative commoner or more common , superlative commonest or most common )
Mutual ; shared by more than one .
1918 , W. B. Maxwell , chapter 19, in The Mirror and the Lamp :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.
The two competitors have the common aim of winning the championship.
Winning the championship is an aim common to the two competitors.
Occurring or happening regularly or frequently ; usual .
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.
It is common to find sharks off this coast.
Found in large numbers or in a large quantity .
2012 March, Lee A. Groat, “Gemstones”, in American Scientist [1] , volume 100 , number 2, 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.
Sharks are common in these waters.
Simple , ordinary or vulgar .
(Can we date this quote by Washington Irving and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
the honest, heart-felt enjoyment of common life
(Can we date this quote by Shakespeare and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
This fact was infamous / And ill beseeming any common man, / Much more a knight, a captain and a leader.
(Can we date this quote by A. Murphy and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
above the vulgar flight of common souls
She was frankly disappointed. For some reason she had thought 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.
( grammar ) In some languages, particularly Germanic languages, of the gender originating from the coalescence of the masculine and feminine categories of nouns .
( grammar ) Of or pertaining to common nouns as opposed to proper nouns .
Vernacular , referring to the name of a kind of plant or animal, i.e., common name vs. scientific name.
( obsolete ) Profane ; polluted .
Bible, Acts x. 15
What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common .
( obsolete ) Given to lewd habits; prostitute .
(Can we date this quote by L'Estrange and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
a dame who herself was common
Synonyms
Antonyms
( mutual ) : personal , individual , peculiar ; see also Thesaurus:sole
( usual ) : special , exceptional , rare , uncommon ; see also Thesaurus:strange
( occurring in large numbers or in a large quantity ) : rare , uncommon , few and far between
( ordinary ) : exceptional , extraordinary , noteworthy , special
( vernacular ) : technical term
See also
Translations
mutual
Armenian: ընդհանուր (hy) ( əndhanur )
Asturian: común
Bashkir: уртаҡ ( urtaq )
Belarusian: агу́льны m ( ahúlʹny )
Bulgarian: общ (bg) m ( obšt )
Catalan: comú (ca) m , comuna (ca) f
Chinese:
Mandarin: 共同 (zh) ( gòngtóng ) , 共通 (zh) ( gòngtōng ) , 相互 (zh) ( xiānghù )
Czech: společný (cs) m
Danish: fælles
Dutch: gemeen (nl) , gemene (nl) , gewoon (nl) , gewone (nl)
Esperanto: komuna (eo)
Finnish: yhteinen (fi)
French: commun (fr) m , commune (fr) f
Galician: común m or f
German: gemeinsam (de) , Gemein- , gemeinschaftlich (de) ( property )
Greek: κοινός (el) ( koinós )
Ancient: κοινός ( koinós )
Hebrew: משותף m ( meshutaf ) , משותפת f ( meshutefet )
Hungarian: közös (hu) , ( identical ) egyező (hu) , megegyező (hu) , azonos (hu)
Ido: komuna (io)
Interlingua: commun
Irish: coiteann
Italian: comune (it) m or f
(deprecated template usage ) {{trans-mid }}
Japanese: 相互 (ja) ( そうご, sōgo ) , 共通 (ja) ( きょうつう, kyōtsū )
Korean: 상호 (ko) ( sangho ) , 공통 (ko) ( gongtong )
Latin: commūnis (la)
Latvian: kopīgs m , kopīga f
Lithuanian: bendras (lt)
Malay: sama (ms)
Maori: pūnoa
Old English: gemǣne
Polish: wspólny (pl) m , wzajemny (pl)
Portuguese: comum (pt) m or f
Quechua: khuska
Romanian: comun (ro)
Russian: о́бщий (ru) ( óbščij ) , взаи́мный (ru) ( vzaímnyj )
Scottish Gaelic: cumanta , coitcheann
Slovene: skúpen
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: gromadny , zgromadny , pógromadny
Upper Sorbian: zhromadny
Spanish: común (es)
Swedish: gemensam (sv) , allmän (sv)
Tagalog: pambalana (tl) , balana
Ukrainian: зага́льний (uk) ( zahálʹnyj )
Vietnamese: chung (vi)
Walloon: kimon (wa) m
Yiddish: בשותּפֿותדיק ( bshutfesdik )
usual
Arabic: شَائِع ( šāʔiʕ )
Armenian: սովորական (hy) ( sovorakan )
Asturian: común
Belarusian: звы́клы ( zvýkly )
Bulgarian: обикновен (bg) m ( obiknoven )
Catalan: comú (ca) m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 通常 (zh) ( tōngcháng ) , 平常 (zh) ( píngcháng )
Czech: běžný (cs) m , obvyklý (cs) m
Danish: almindelig (da) , vanlig , sædvanlig
Dutch: gemeen (nl) , gemene (nl) , gewoon (nl) , gewone (nl)
Esperanto: ordinara
Finnish: yleinen (fi) , tavallinen (fi)
French: commun (fr) m , commune (fr) f
Galician: común
Georgian: ჩვეულებრივი ( čveulebrivi ) , ხშირი ( xširi )
German: gewöhnlich (de) , häufig (de) , normal (de)
Greek: κοινός (el) ( koinós ) , συνηθισμένος (el) ( synithisménos )
Hebrew: שכיח (he) m ( shakhíakh ) , שכיחה f ( shkhikha )
Hungarian: szokásos (hu) , szokványos (hu) , mindennapos (hu) , hétköznapi (hu) , megszokott (hu) , ( lit. well-known ) közismert (hu)
Ido: ordinara (io)
Interlingua: commun
Irish: coitianta
(deprecated template usage ) {{trans-mid }}
Italian: comune (it) m or f
Japanese: 通常 (ja) ( つうじょう, tsūjō ) , 平常 (ja) ( へいじょう, heijō )
Khmer: ទូទៅ (km) ( tuu-tɨv )
Korean: 통상 (ko) ( tongsang )
Latin: commūnis (la)
Malay: biasa
Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
Norwegian: vanlig (no)
Old English: ġewunelīċ
Persian: رایج (fa) ( raij ) , شایع (fa) ( šâyee ) , معمول (fa) ( ma'mul )
Polish: zwykły (pl) m , pospolity (pl) m , powszedni (pl) m , potoczny (pl) m , obiegowy (pl) m
Portuguese: comum (pt) m or f
Romanian: obișnuit (ro) , uzual (ro) , comun (ro)
Russian: обы́чный (ru) ( obýčnyj ) , обы́денный (ru) ( obýdennyj ) , повседне́вный (ru) ( povsednévnyj ) , обыкнове́нный (ru) ( obyknovénnyj )
Scottish Gaelic: cumanta , àbhaisteach , coitcheann
Spanish: común (es)
Swedish: vanlig (sv)
Tagalog: pambalana (tl) , balana
Telugu: మామూలు (te) ( māmūlu ) (maamoolu)
Thai: please add this translation if you can
Turkish: please add this translation if you can
Ukrainian: зви́чний ( zvýčnyj ) , звича́йний ( zvyčájnyj )
Vietnamese: thường (vi) , thông thường (vi)
Walloon: ordinaire (wa) m or f
found in large numbers or in a large quantity
Arabic: شَائِع ( šāʔiʕ )
Armenian: սովորական (hy) ( sovorakan )
Asturian: común
Belarusian: please add this translation if you can
Bulgarian: разпространен (bg) ( razprostranen )
Chinese:
Mandarin: please add this translation if you can
Czech: běžný (cs)
Dutch: veelvoorkomend (nl)
Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
Finnish: yleinen (fi)
French: commun (fr) m , commune (fr) f
Galician: común
Georgian: ხშირი ( xširi )
German: häufig (de) , nicht ungewöhnlich , gewöhnlich (de) , verbreitet (de)
Hebrew: נפוץ (he) m ( nafótz ) , נפוצה f ( nefotza ) , שכיח (he) m ( shakhíakh ) , שכיחה f ( shkhikha )
(deprecated template usage ) {{trans-mid }}
Hungarian: gyakori (hu) , mindennapos (hu) , megszokott (hu)
Italian: comune (it) m or f
Japanese: ざら ( zara )
Khmer: please add this translation if you can
Latin: communis (la) m
Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
Norwegian: vanlig (no)
Old English: ġewunelīċ
Polish: pospolity (pl) m , powszechny (pl) m
Portuguese: comum (pt)
Russian: обы́чный (ru) ( obýčnyj ) , повсеме́стный (ru) ( povseméstnyj ) , распространённый (ru) ( rasprostranjónnyj )
Scottish Gaelic: cumanta , coitcheann
Spanish: común (es)
Swedish: vanlig (sv)
Telugu: సామాన్య (te) ( sāmānya )
Thai: please add this translation if you can
Vietnamese: (please verify ) thường gặp , (please verify ) thường thấy , (please verify ) phổ biến (vi)
ordinary
Armenian: հասարակ (hy) ( hasarak ) , սովորական (hy) ( sovorakan )
Bulgarian: обикновен (bg) ( obiknoven )
Catalan: comú (ca)
Czech: obyčejný (cs)
Dutch: gewoon (nl)
Esperanto: vulgara ,
Finnish: yleinen (fi) , tavallinen (fi)
French: ordinaire (fr)
Galician: común
Georgian: ჩვეულებრივი ( čveulebrivi )
German: gemein (de) , gewöhnlich (de) , durchschnittlich (de)
Greek:
Ancient: ἀγελαῖος ( agelaîos )
Hebrew: רגיל (he) m ( ragíl ) , רגילה f ( regila )
Hungarian: közönséges (hu) , átlagos (hu) , hétköznapi (hu)
Indonesian: umum (id)
(deprecated template usage ) {{trans-mid }}
Irish: coiteann
Italian: ordinario (it) m , ordinaria (it) f , volgare (it) , grossolano (it) m , grossolana (it) f
Khmer: សម្ទាយ (km) ( sɑmtiey )
Malay: biasa
Norwegian: vanlig (no)
Old English: ġewunelīċ
Persian: معمولی (fa) ( ma‘muli )
Polish: zwyczajny (pl) m , potoczny (pl) m
Portuguese: comum (pt)
Russian: просто́й (ru) ( prostój ) , обыкнове́нный (ru) ( obyknovénnyj )
Spanish: común (es)
Swedish: vanlig (sv)
Telugu: సామాన్య (te) ( sāmānya ) (saamaanya)
Vietnamese: thường (vi) , bình thường (vi)
grammar: of the gender resulting from the coalescence of the masculine and feminine genders
Translations to be checked
Noun
common (plural commons )
Mutual good , shared by more than one.
A tract of land in common ownership ; common land .
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 .
The people ; the community .
(Can we date this quote by William Shakespeare and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
the weal o' the common
( 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
Verb
common (third-person singular simple present commons , present participle commoning , simple past and past participle commoned )
( obsolete ) To communicate (something).
1526 , William Tyndale , trans, Bible , Luke XXII:
Then entred Satan into Judas, whose syr name was iscariot (which was of the nombre off the twelve) and he went his waye, and commened with the hye prestes and officers, how he wolde betraye hym vnto them.
( obsolete ) To converse , talk .
(Can we date this quote by Grafton and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
Embassadors were sent upon both parts, and divers means of entreaty were commoned of.
( obsolete ) To have sex .
( obsolete ) To participate .
(Can we find and add a quotation of Sir Thomas More to this entry?)
( obsolete ) To have a joint right with others in common ground .
(Can we find and add a quotation of Johnson to this entry?)
( obsolete ) To board together; to eat at a table in common.
Derived terms
Terms derived from the adjective, noun, or verb common
Further reading
"common" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 31.