common
See also: Common
English
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.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: kŏm'ən, IPA(key): /ˈkɒm.ən/
Audio (UK) (file)
- (General American) enPR: kä'mən, IPA(key): /ˈkɑ.mən/
Audio (US) (file)
- (obsolete) enPR: kŏm'ŭn, IPA(key): /ˈkɒm.ʌn/
- Rhymes: -ɒmən
- Hyphenation: com‧mon
Adjective
common (comparative commoner or more common, superlative commonest or most common)
- Mutual; shared by more than one.
- 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XIX, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, OCLC 4293071:
- 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 1023879857, page 169:
- They shared a common dread that he would begin moaning.
- 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; usual.
- 2012 March 1, Lee A. Groat, “Gemstones”, in American Scientist, 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, archived from the original on 7 February 2019:
- Machine learning was the most common method of AI listed in patent requests.
Audio (US) (file)
- 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.
-
- Simple, ordinary or vulgar.
- 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.
- 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 606515358, [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
- 1914, Louis Joseph Vance, chapter III, in Nobody, New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, published 1915, OCLC 40817384:
- 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.
- 1893, Florian Cajori, A History of Mathematics
- (grammar) Of, pertaining or belonging to the common gender.
- (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.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Acts 10:15:
- What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.
-
- (obsolete) Given to lewd habits; prostitute.
- 1692, Roger L’Estrange, “ (please specify the fable number.) (please specify the name of the fable.)”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], OCLC 228727523:
- a Dame who her self was as Common as the King's High Way
-
Synonyms
- (mutual): mutual, shared; see also Thesaurus:joint
- (usual): normal, ordinary, standard, usual; see also Thesaurus:common
- (occurring in large numbers or in a large quantity): widespread; see also Thesaurus:widespread
- (ordinary): common-or-garden, everyday; see also Thesaurus:normal
- (grammar, gender of coalescence of masculine of feminine): epicene
- (grammar, antonym of proper): appellative
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
Translations
mutual
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usual
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found in large numbers or in a large quantity
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ordinary
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grammar: of the gender resulting from the coalescence of the masculine and feminine genders
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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
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See also
- (grammar, gender of coalescence of masculine of feminine): feminine/female, masculine/male, neuter
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.
- c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene i]:
- 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
mutual good
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tract of land
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Verb
common (third-person singular simple present commons, present participle commoning, simple past and past participle commoned)
- (obsolete) To communicate (something).
- 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], OCLC 762018299, Luke ]:
- 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.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto IX”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, OCLC 960102938:
- So long as Guyon with her commoned, / Vnto the ground she cast her modest eye […]
- 1568-1569, Richard Grafton, Chronicle
- Capitaine generall of Flaunders, which amiably enterteyned the sayd Duke, and after they had secretly commoned of.
-
- (obsolete) To have sex.
- (obsolete) To participate.
- (obsolete) To have a joint right with others in common ground.
- (obsolete) To board together; to eat at a table in common.
Derived terms
Terms derived from the adjective, noun, or verb common
- Amersham Common
- Anlaby Common
- Asian common toad
- Balsall Common
- Christmas Common
- Clapham Common
- Cliffe Common
- Colden Common
- common adder (Vipera berus)
- common ageratum (Ageratum houstonianum)
- common agouti (Dasyprocta spp.)
- common alder (Alnus glutinosa))
- commonality
- common allamanda (Allamanda cathartica)
- commonalty
- common American shad (Alosa sapidissima)
- common amsinckia (Amsinckia intermedia)
- common ancestor
- common-and-garden
- common antilog
- common antilogarithm
- common apricot (Prunus armeniaca)
- common area
- common arrowhead (Sagittaria spp.)
- common arum lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica)
- common as dirt
- common ash (Fraxinus excelsior)
- common as muck
- common asparagus beetle (Crioceris asparagi)
- common as pig tracks
- common babbler (Argya caudata)
- common bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris)
- common barbel (Barbus barbus)
- common barberry (Berberis vulgaris)
- common barley (Hordeum vulgare)
- common barn owl (Tyto alba)
- common basilisk (Basiliscus basiliscus)
- common basil (Ocimum basilicum)
- common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris)
- common bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)
- common beech (Fagus sylvatica)
- common beet (Beta vulgaris)
- common beisa oryx (Oryx beisa beisa)
- common bent (Agrostis capillaris)
- common bent-wing bat (Miniopterus schreibersii)
- common big-eared bat (Micronycteris microtis)
- common bile duct
- common birch (Betula pendula)
- common bird cherry (Prunus padus)
- common bistort (Bistorta officinalis, syn. Persicaria bistorta)
- common bittern (Botaurus stellaris)
- common blackberry (Rubus spp.)
- common blackbird (Turdus merula)
- common blackfish (Globicephala melaena)
- common black hawk (Buteogallus anthracinus)
- common bladderwort (Utricularia spp.)
- common blanket octopus (Tremoctopus violaceus)
- common bleak (Alburnus alburnus)
- common blewit (Lepista saeva)
- common blossom bat (Syconycteris australis)
- common bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta)
- common blue damsel (Enallagma cyathigerum)
- common blue (Polyommatus icarus)
- common bluetail (Ischnura spp.)
- common blue-tongued skink (Tiliqua scincoides)
- common boa (Boa constrictor)
- common bog rosemary (Andromeda polifolia)
- common boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)
- common booklouse (Trogium pulsatorium)
- common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)
- common box (Buxus sempervirens)
- common box turtle (Terrapene carolina)
- common brant goose (Branta bernicla)
- common bream (Abramis brama)
- common bronzewing (Phaps chalcoptera)
- common broom (Cytisus scoparius)
- common brown cup (Peziza phyllogena)
- common brown earwig (Labidura truncata)
- common brown leafhopper (Orosius orientalis)
- common brown lemur (Eulemur fulvus)
- common brown water snake (Lycodonomorphus rufulus)
- common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula)
- common bryony (Bryonia)
- common buckeye (Junonia coenia)
- common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica)
- common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum)
- common bulbul (Pycnotus barbatus)
- common bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula)
- common bully (Gobiomorphus cotidianus)
- common bunt (Tilletia spp.)
- common burdock (Arctium minus)
- common burnet (Sanguisorba spp.)
- common bush tanager (Chlorspingus flavopectus)
- common butterbur (Petasites spp.)
- common buttercup (Ranunculus bulbosus)
- common butterfly lizard (Leiolepis belliana)
- common butterweed (Senecio vulgaris)
- common butterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris)
- common buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
- common buttonquail (Turnix sylvaticus)
- common buzzard (Buteo buteo)
- common cactus finch (Geospiza scandens)
- common calamint (Calamintha sylvatica)
- common camas (Camassia quamash)
- common camellia (Camellia japonica)
- common canary (Serinus canaria)
- common caper (Capparis spinosa)
- common capeweed (Hypochaeris radicata)
- common caracara (Polyborus plancus)
- common carder bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- common cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
- common carline thistle (Carlina vulgaris)
- common carotid artery
- common carp (Cyprinus carpio)
- common carrier
- common carrot (Daucus carota)
- common cattail (Typha latifolia)
- common cattle grub (Hypoderma lineatum)
- common cause
- common caustic
- common centaury (Centaurea erythraea)
- common chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)
- common chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon)
- common chickweed (Stellaria media et al.)
- common chicory (Cichorium intybus)
- common chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita)
- common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes)
- common chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera)
- common chokecherry (Prunus virginiana)
- common chord
- common cicadabird (Edolisoma tenuirostre)
- common cinquefoil (Potentilla simplex)
- common clam worm (Nereidae)
- common clay
- common clothes moth (Tineola biselliella)
- common clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris)
- common cobra (Naja naja)
- common cockchafer (Melolontha melolontha)
- common cockle (Cerastoderma edule)
- common cockroach
- common cold
- common collared lizard (Crotaphytus collaris)
- common columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris)
- common comfrey (Symphytum officinale)
- common coral tree (Erythrina crista-galli)
- common corncockle (Agrostemma githago)
- common corn salad (Valerianella spp.)
- common cotton grass (Eriophorum angustifolium)
- common coupling
- common cowbird (Molothrus ater)
- common crab (Cancer pagurusan)
- common crane (Grus grus)
- common crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica)
- common crossbill (Loxia curvirostra)
- common crossing
- common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus)
- common curlew (Numenius arquata)
- common currency
- common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis)
- common dab (Limanda limanda)
- common dace (Leuciscus leuciscus)
- common daisy (Bellis perennis)
- common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
- common darter (Sympetrum striolatum)
- common death adder (Acanthophis antarcticus)
- common degu (Octodon degus)
- common denominator
- common dentex (Dentex dentex)
- common devil's claw (Proboscidea louisianica)
- common difference
- common diving petrel (Pelecanoides urinatrix)
- common dogbane (Apocynum abdrosaemifolium)
- common dog violet (Viola canina)
- common dogwood
- common dolphin (Delphinus delphis)
- common dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius)
- common Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menzies)
- common duckweed (Lemna minor)
- common duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia)
- common dwarf mongoose (Helogale parvula)
- common eagle ray (Myliobatis aquila)
- common earwig (Forficula auricularius)
- common eel
- common egg eater (Dasypeltis scabra)
- common egret (Ardea alba)
- common eider (Somateria mollissima)
- common eland (Taurotragus oryx)
- common elder dove (Chalcophaps indica)
- common elder (Sambucus nigra)
- commoner
- common European ash (Fraxinus excelsior)
- common European dogwood (Cornus sanguinea)
- common European earwig (Forficula auricularius)
- common European jay (Garullus garullus)
- common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis)
- common factor
- common fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)
- common fig (Ficus carica)
- common firecrest (Regulus ignicapilla)
- common flameback (Dinopium javanense)
- common flat lizard (Platysaurus intermedius)
- common flat pea (Platylobium obtusangulum)
- common flat-tail gecko (Uroplatus fimbriatus)
- common flax (Linum usitatissimum)
- common flicker (Colaptes auratus)
- common four o'clock (Mirabilis spp.)
- common foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)
- common fox (Vulpes vulpes)
- common fraction
- common frog (Rana temporaria)
- common fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster)
- common fumitory (Fumaria officinalis)
- common furniture beetle (Anobium punctatum)
- common galaxias (Galaxias maculatus)
- common gallinule (Gallinula galeata)
- common garden cress (Lepidium sativum)
- common garden rhubarb (Rheum rhaponticum)
- common garden skink (Lampropholis guichenoti)
- common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)
- common gender
- common genet (Genetta genetta)
- common gibbon (Hylobates lar)
- common ginger (Zingiber officinale)
- common glider
- common glow-worm
- common glowworm (Lampyris noctiluca)
- common gnat (Culex pipens)
- common goby (Pomatoschistus microps)
- common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)
- common goldfish
- common good
- common gorse (Ulex europaeus)
- common grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)
- common grape hyacinth (Muscari neglectum)
- common grape vine (Vitis vinifera)
- common grasshopper warbler (Locustella naevia)
- common green bottle fly (Lucilia sericata)
- common green frog (Hylarana erythraea)
- common green lacewing (Chrysoperla carnea)
- common green magpie (Cissa chinensis)
- common greenshank (Tringa nebularia)
- common ground dove (Columbina passerina)
- common groundsel (Senecio vulgaris)
- common guitarfish (Rhinobatos rhinobatos)
- common gull (Larus canus; Cepora nerissa)
- common gum cistus (Cistus spp.)
- common gundi (Ctenodactylus gundi)
- common hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)
- common hamster (Cricetus cricetus)
- common hatchetfish (Gastropelecus sternicla)
- common hawk-cuckoo (Hierococcyx varius)
- common hawker (Aeshna juncea)
- common hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)
- common hazel (Corylus avellana)
- common heath (Epacris spp.)
- common heather (Calluna vulgaris)
- common hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus)
- common heliotrope (Valeriana officinalis)
- common hepatica (Hepatica nobilis)
- common highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum)
- common hill myna (Gracula religiosa)
- common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius)
- common holly
- common hop bush
- common hop, common hops (Humulus lupulus)
- common horehound (Marrubium vulgare)
- common hornbeam (Carpinus betulus)
- common horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum)
- common horsetail (Petasites spp.)
- common house
- common housefly (Musca domestica)
- common house gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus)
- common house martin (Delichon urbicum)
- common house mouse (Mus musculus)
- common house spider (Parasteatoda tepidariorum)
- common hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis)
- common iguana (Iguana iguana)
- common iliac artery
- common iliac vein
- common indigo plant (Indigofera tinctoria)
- common ink cap (Coprinus atramentarius)
- common iora (Aegithina tiphia)
- common ivy (Hedera helix)
- common jackal (Canis aureus)
- common jasmine (Jasminum officinale)
- common jery (Neomixis tenella)
- common juniper (Juniper communis)
- common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)
- common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
- common kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula)
- common kisimanse (Crossarchus obscurus)
- common knapweed (Centaurea nigra)
- common knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare)
- common knowledge
- common krait (Bungarus caeruleus)
- common laburnum (Laburnum anagyroides)
- common lady's mantle
- common langur (Semnopithecus entellus)
- common larkspur (Delphinium ajacis)
- common lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
- common law
- common-law
- common-law marriage
- common leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius)
- common lettuce (Lactuca sativa)
- common lilac (Syringa vulgaris)
- common lime (Papilio demoleus)
- common limpet (Patella vulgata)
- common ling (Molva molva)
- common linnet (Linaria cannabina)
- common lizard (Zootoca vivipara
- common lobster (Homarus gammarus)
- common logarithm
- common logperch (Percina caprodes)
- common loon (Gavia immer)
- common louse (Pediculus humanus)
- common lynx (Lynx lynx)
- common mackerel (Scomber scombrus)
- common macrotona (Macrotona australis)
- common madder (Rubia spp.)
- common madia (Madia elegans)
- common magpie (Pica pica)
- common maidenhair (Adiantum capillus-veneris)
- common mallow (Malva neglecta)
- common man
- common marigold
- common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus)
- common matrimony vine (Lycium spp.)
- common meadow grass (Poa pratensis)
- common meter
- common millet
- common minnow
- common moorhen
- common mora
- common mullein
- common multiple
- common murre (Uria aalge)
- common nail
- common name
- common nightingale
- common noun
- common octopus
- common of shack
- common-or-garden
- common or garden
- common or garden variety
- common pheasant
- common-place
- commonplace
- common pochard
- common polypody
- common poppy
- common purple-glossed snake
- common purpose
- common purse
- common purslane
- common quail
- common rabbit
- common radish
- common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia)
- common rat
- common ratio
- common raven
- common recovery
- common redpoll
- common redshank
- common redstart
- common reed
- common rhea
- common riding
- common ringlet
- common rock thrush
- common room
- common rose
- common rosefinch
- common rue
- common run
- common rush
- commons
- common salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius)
- common salt
- common sandpiper
- common scoter
- common seal
- common sedge
- common sense
- commonsense
- common-sensical
- common sewer
- common shelduck
- common shrew
- common-site picketing
- common-situs picketing
- common snipe
- common sorrel
- common sow thistle
- common spotted orchid
- common squid
- common squirrel monkey
- common starling
- common stock
- common swift
- common teal
- common tern
- common thread
- common three-ring
- common time
- common touch
- common vole
- common weal
- common wheat
- common whitebeam
- common whitefish
- common whitethroat
- common wood pigeon
- common woodpigeon
- common woodrush
- common yarrow
- common year
- common yellow oxalis
- common yellow woodsorrel
- common yeoman
- Ealing Common
- Galley Common
- greatest common divisor
- greatest common factor
- Greenham Common
- highest common factor
- House of Commons
- Hoyland Common
- in common
- Laughton Common
- least common multiple
- lowest common denominator
- lowest common multiple
- make common cause
- Oldland Common
- Old Oak Common
- out of the common
- Silkstone Common
- smallest common multiple
- Streatham Common
- tenancy in common
- tenant in common
References
- common at OneLook Dictionary Search
- common in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
- common in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
Chinese
Etymology
From English common.
Pronunciation
Adjective
common
- (Hong Kong Cantonese) common; usual; widespread
See also
- com (kam1)
References
- English Loanwords in Hong Kong Cantonese