communis

Latin

Etymology

From Old Latin co(m)moinis, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱom-moy-ni-, from *mey- (“to change”). Cognate with Proto-Germanic *gamainiz (“shared, communal; common”), related to immūnis, mūnia, mūnis, mūnus (compare Proto-Italic *moinos (“service”)).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /komˈmuː.nis/, [kɔmˈmuːnɪs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /komˈmu.nis/, [komˈmuːnis]

• Audio (Classical):

  (file)

Adjective

commūnis (neuter commūne, comparative commūnior, adverb commūniter); third-declension two-termination adjective

1. common, ordinary, commonplace, universal
2. of or for the community, public
3. democratic; representing the common sentiment
4. (of manners) familiar, accessible, courteous
5. (grammar) having both qualities of a subdivided category, such as a verb with both an active and a passive meaning, or a syllable being either long or short.

Declension

Third-declension two-termination adjective.

Number	Singular			Plural
Case / Gender	Masc./Fem.	Neuter		Masc./Fem.	Neuter
Nominative	commūnis	commūne		commūnēs	commūnia
Genitive	commūnis			commūnium
Dative	commūnī			commūnibus
Accusative	commūnem	commūne		commūnēs commūnīs	commūnia
Ablative	commūnī			commūnibus
Vocative	commūnis	commūne		commūnēs	commūnia

Synonyms

• (common, ordinary): vulgāris

Derived terms

• commūnālis
• commūne
• commūnicātiō
• commūnicātor
• commūnicātus
• commūnicō
• commūniō
• commūnitās
• commūniter
• commūnītiō
• commūnitus
• commūnītus

 

Descendants

• Catalan: comú
• English: common
• French: commun

• Galician: común
• Interlingua: commun
• Italian: comune

• Portuguese: comum
• Romanian: comun
• Spanish: común

References

• “communis”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “communis”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• communis in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• communis in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to considerably (in no way) further the common good: multum (nihil) ad communem utilitatem afferre
    
  • to accommodate something to the standard of the popular intelligence: ad intellegentiam communem or popularem accommodare aliquid
    
  • to express oneself in popular language: ad vulgarem sensum or ad communem opinionem orationem accommodare (Off. 2. 10. 35)
    
  • (ambiguous) we know from experience: usu rerum (vitae, vitae communis) edocti sumus
    
  • (ambiguous) unanimously: uno, communi, summo or omnium consensu (Tusc. 1. 15. 35)
    
  • (ambiguous) the ordinary usage of language, everyday speech: communis sermonis consuetudo
    
  • (ambiguous) to be always considering what people think: multum communi hominum opinioni tribuere