Nearby Words
com·mon
[kom-uh
n] 
adjective, -er, -est, noun adjective
1.
belonging equally to, or shared alike by, two or more or all in question: common property; common interests.
2.
3.
joint; united: a common defense.
4.
widespread; general; ordinary: common knowledge.
5.
EXPANDof frequent occurrence; usual; familiar: a common event; a common mistake.
6.
hackneyed; trite.
7.
of mediocre or inferior quality; mean; low: a rough-textured suit of the most common fabric.
8.
coarse; vulgar: common manners.
9.
lacking rank, station, distinction, etc.; unexceptional; ordinary: a common soldier; common people; the common man; a common thief.
10.
Dialect. friendly; sociable; unaffected.
11.
Anatomy. forming or formed by two or more parts or branches: the common carotid arteries.
12.
Prosody. (of a syllable) able to be considered as either long or short.
13.
Grammar.
a.
b.
constituting one of two genders of a language, especially a gender comprising nouns that were formerly masculine or feminine: Swedish nouns are either common or neuter.
c.
noting a word that may refer to either a male or a female: French élève has common gender. English lacks a common gender pronoun in the third person singular.
d.
(of a noun) belonging to the common gender.
14.
Mathematics. bearing a similar relation to two or more entities.
15.
COLLAPSEof, pertaining to, or being common stock: common shares.
noun
16.
Often, commons. Chiefly New England. a tract of land owned or used jointly by the residents of a community, usually a central square or park in a city or town.
17.
Law. the right or liberty, in common with other persons, to take profit from the land or waters of another, as by pasturing animals on another's land (common of pasturage) or fishing in another's waters (common of piscary).
18.
commons, (used with a singular or plural verb)
) a.
the commonalty; the nonruling class.
b.
the body of people not of noble birth or not ennobled, as represented in England by the House of Commons.
c.
(initial capital letter) the representatives of this body.
) the representatives of this body.d.
(initial capital letter) the House of Commons.
) the House of Commons.19.
commons,
a.
(used with a singular verb) a large dining room, especially at a university or college.
) a large dining room, especially at a university or college.b.
(usually used with a plural verb) British. food provided in such a dining room.
) British. food provided in such a dining room.c.
(usually used with a plural verb) food or provisions for any group.
) food or provisions for any group.20.
EXPAND(sometimes initial capital letter) Ecclesiastical.
) Ecclesiastical. a.
an office or form of service used on a festival of a particular kind.
b.
the ordinary of the Mass, especially those parts sung by the choir.
c.
the part of the missal and breviary containing Masses and offices of those saints assigned to them.
21.
COLLAPSEObsolete.
a.
the community or public.
b.
the common people.
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Common
is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
22.
Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English comun < Anglo-French, Old French < Latin commūnis common, presumably orig. “sharing common duties,” akin to mūnia duties of an office, mūnus task, duty, gift < a base *moin-, cognate with mean2; compare com-, immune
1250–1300; Middle English comun < Anglo-French, Old French < Latin commūnis common, presumably orig. “sharing common duties,” akin to mūnia duties of an office, mūnus task, duty, gift < a base *moin-, cognate with mean2; compare com-, immune
Related forms
com·mon·ness, noun
o·ver·com·mon, adjective
o·ver·com·mon·ly, adverb
o·ver·com·mon·ness, noun
qua·si-com·mon, adjective
EXPANDqua·si-com·mon·ly, adverb
COLLAPSESynonyms
4. universal, prevalent, popular. See general. 5. customary, everyday. 7, 8, 9. Common, vulgar, ordinary refer, often with derogatory connotations of cheapness or inferiority, to what is usual or most often experienced. Common applies to what is accustomed, usually experienced, or inferior, to the opposite of what is exclusive or aristocratic: The park is used by the common people. Vulgar properly means belonging to the people, or characteristic of common people; it connotes low taste, coarseness, or ill breeding: the vulgar view of things; vulgar in manners and speech. Ordinary refers to what is to be expected in the usual order of things; it means average or below average: That is a high price for something of such ordinary quality.
4. universal, prevalent, popular. See general. 5. customary, everyday. 7, 8, 9. Common, vulgar, ordinary refer, often with derogatory connotations of cheapness or inferiority, to what is usual or most often experienced. Common applies to what is accustomed, usually experienced, or inferior, to the opposite of what is exclusive or aristocratic: The park is used by the common people. Vulgar properly means belonging to the people, or characteristic of common people; it connotes low taste, coarseness, or ill breeding: the vulgar view of things; vulgar in manners and speech. Ordinary refers to what is to be expected in the usual order of things; it means average or below average: That is a high price for something of such ordinary quality.
Antonyms
1. individual. 5. unusual.
1. individual. 5. unusual.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2011.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2011.
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Link To common
Collins
World English Dictionary
| common (ˈkɒmən) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | belonging to or shared by two or more people: common property |
| 2. | belonging to or shared by members of one or more nations or communities; public: a common culture |
| 3. | of ordinary standard; average: common decency |
| 4. | prevailing; widespread: common opinion |
| 5. | widely known or frequently encountered; ordinary: a common brand of soap |
| 6. | widely known and notorious: a common nuisance |
| 7. | derogatory considered by the speaker to be low-class, vulgar, or coarse: a common accent |
| 8. | (prenominal) having no special distinction, rank, or status: the common man |
| 9. | maths |
| a. having a specified relationship with a group of numbers or quantities: common denominator | |
| b. (of a tangent) tangential to two or more circles | |
| 10. | prosody (of a syllable) able to be long or short, or (in nonquantitative verse) stressed or unstressed |
| 11. | grammar (in certain languages) denoting or belonging to a gender of nouns, esp one that includes both masculine and feminine referents: Latin |
| 12. | anatomy |
| a. having branches: the common carotid artery | |
| b. serving more than one function: the common bile duct | |
| 13. | Christianity of or relating to the common of the Mass or divine office |
| 14. | informal common or garden ordinary; unexceptional |
| —n | |
| 15. | (sometimes plural) a tract of open public land, esp one now used as a recreation area |
| 16. | law the right to go onto someone else's property and remove natural products, as by pasturing cattle or fishing (esp in the phrase right of common) |
| 17. | Christianity |
| a. a form of the proper of the Mass used on festivals that have no special proper of their own | |
| b. the ordinary of the Mass | |
| 18. | archaic the ordinary people; the public, esp those undistinguished by rank or title |
| 19. | in common mutually held or used with another or others |
| [C13: from Old French commun, from Latin commūnis general, universal] | |
| 'commonness | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
common
c.1300, from O.Fr. comun, from L. communis "in common, public, general, shared by all or many," from PIE *ko-moin-i- "held in common," compound adjective formed from *ko- "together" + *moi-n-, suffixed form of base *mei- "change, exchange" (see mutable), hence lit. "shared
EXPANDby all." Second element of the compound also is the source of L. munia "duties, public duties, functions," those related to munia "office." Perhaps reinforced in O.Fr. by Frank. descendant of P.Gmc. *gamainiz (cf. O.E. gemæne "common, public, general, universal"), from the P.Gmc. form of PIE *ko-moin-i- (see mean (adj.)). Used disparagingly of women and criminals since c.1300. Common pleas is 13c., from Anglo-Fr. communs plets, hearing civil actions by one subject against another as opposed to pleas of the crown. Common prayer is contrasted with private prayer. Common stock is attested from 1888.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Merriam-Webster
Medical Dictionary
com·mon definition
Pronunciation: /ˈkäm-ən/Function: adj
: formed of or dividing into two or more branches <the common facial vein><common iliac vessels>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2007 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Merriam-Webster
Legal Dictionary
Main Entry: com·mon
Function: adjective
1 a : of or relating to a community at large : PUBLIC <common defense> b : known to the community common thief>
2 : belonging to or shared by two or more persons or things or by all members of a group
3 : of or relating to common stock <common shares>
Main Entry: common
Function: noun
1 plural cap : HOUSE OF COMMONS
2 : the legal right of taking a profit in another's land in common with the owner or others
3 : a piece of land subject to common use: as a : land jointly owned and used esp. for pasture b : a public open area in a municipality
4 : a condition of shared ownership : a condition in which a right is shared with an interest held by another person
5 : COMMON STOCK at, STOCK
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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American Heritage
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia
common
in Anglo-American property law, an area of land for use by the public. The term originated in feudal England, where the "waste," or uncultivated land, of a lord's manor could be used for pasture and firewood by his tenants. For centuries this right of commons conflicted with the lord's right to "approve" (i.e., appropriate for his own use) any of his waste, provided he left enough land to support the commoners' livestock. In the 19th century the right of approvement was in effect assumed by the government. Under modern agriculture, common pasturing became obsolete, and commons became public land used mostly for recreation.
Learn more about common with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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