a common person, as distinguished from one with rank, status, etc.
2.
British.
a.
any person ranking below a peer; a person without a title of nobility.
b.
a member of the House of Commons.
c.
(at Oxford and some other universities) a student who pays for his or her commons and other expenses and is not supported by any scholarship or foundation.
belonging equally to, or shared alike by, two or more or all in question: common property; common interests.
2.
pertaining or belonging equally to an entire community, nation, or culture; public: a common language or history; a common water-supply system.
3.
joint; united: a common defense.
4.
widespread; general; ordinary: common knowledge.
5.
of 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.
not belonging to an inflectional paradigm; fulfilling different functions that in some languages require different inflected forms: English nouns are in the common case whether used as subject or object.
b.
constituting one of two genders of a language, esp. 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.
of, 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.
d.
(initial capital letter) the House of Commons.
19.
commons,
a.
(used with a singular verb) a large dining room, esp. at a university or college.
b.
(usually used with a plural verb) British. food provided in such a dining room.
c.
(usually used with a plural verb) food or provisions for any group.
20.
(sometimes initial capital letter) Ecclesiastical.
a.
an office or form of service used on a festival of a particular kind.
b.
the ordinary of the Mass, esp. 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.
Obsolete.
a.
the community or public.
b.
the common people.
—Idiom
22.
in common, in joint possession or use; shared equally: They have a love of adventure in common.
[Origin: 1250–1300; ME comun < AF, OF < L commūnis common, presumably orig. “sharing common duties,” akin to mūnia duties of an office, mūnus task, duty, gift < a base *moin-, c. mean2; cf. com-, immune]
—Related forms
com·mon·ness, noun
—Synonyms 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.
Belonging equally to or shared equally by two or more; joint: common interests.
Of or relating to the community as a whole; public: for the common good. See Usage Note at mutual.
Occurring frequently or habitually; usual.
Most widely known; ordinary: the common housefly.
Not distinguished by superior or noteworthy characteristics; average: the common spectator.
Of no special quality; standard: common procedure.
Of mediocre or inferior quality; second-rate: common cloth.
Either masculine or feminine in gender.
Representing one or all of the members of a class; not designating a unique entity.
Widespread; prevalent.
Occurring frequently or habitually; usual.
Most widely known; ordinary: the common housefly.
Not distinguished by superior or noteworthy characteristics; average: the common spectator.
Of no special quality; standard: common procedure.
Of mediocre or inferior quality; second-rate: common cloth.
Either masculine or feminine in gender.
Representing one or all of the members of a class; not designating a unique entity.
Having no special designation, status, or rank: a common sailor.
Not distinguished by superior or noteworthy characteristics; average: the common spectator.
Of no special quality; standard: common procedure.
Of mediocre or inferior quality; second-rate: common cloth.
Either masculine or feminine in gender.
Representing one or all of the members of a class; not designating a unique entity.
Unrefined or coarse in manner; vulgar: behavior that branded him as common.
Grammar
Either masculine or feminine in gender.
Representing one or all of the members of a class; not designating a unique entity.
n.
commons The common people; commonalty.
commons(used with a sing. or pl. verb)
The social class composed of commoners.
The parliamentary representatives of this class.
The House of Commons. Often used in the plural.
A tract of land, usually in a centrally located spot, belonging to or used by a community as a whole: a band concert on the village common.
The legal right of a person to use the lands or waters of another, as for fishing.
commons(used with a sing. verb) A building or hall for dining, typically at a university or college.
Common stock.
Ecclesiastical A service used for a particular class of festivals.
[Middle English commune, from Old French commun, from Latin commūnis; see mei-1 in Indo-European roots.]
com'mon·ly adv., com'mon·ness n.
Synonyms: These adjectives describe what is generally known or frequently encountered. Common applies to what takes place often, is widely used, or is well known: The botanist studied the common dandelion.
The term also implies coarseness or a lack of distinction: My wallet was stolen by a common thief. Ordinary describes something usual that is indistinguishable from others, sometimes derogatorily: A ballpoint pen is adequate for ordinary purposes. The critic gave the ordinary performance a mediocre review. Familiar applies to what is well known or quickly recognized: Most children can recite familiar nursery rhymes. Vulgar describes association with the great mass of people and often connotes lack of refinement: "He [Shakespeare] was not something sacred and aloof from the vulgar herd of men" (William Hazlitt). See Also Synonyms at general.
Com"mon\, a. [Compar. Commoner; superl. Commonest.] [OE. commun, comon, OF. comun, F. commun, fr. L. communis; com- + munis ready to be of service; cf. Skr. mi to make fast, set up, build, Goth. gamains common, G. gemein, and E. mean low, common. Cf. Immunity, Commune, n. & v.]1. Belonging or relating equally, or similarly, to more than one; as, you and I have a common interest in the property. Though life and sense be common to men and brutes. --Sir M. Hale. 2. Belonging to or shared by, affecting or serving, all the members of a class, considered together; general; public; as, properties common to all plants; the common schools; the Book of Common Prayer. Such actions as the common good requireth. --Hooker. The common enemy of man. --Shak. 3. Often met with; usual; frequent; customary. Grief more than common grief. --Shak. 4. Not distinguished or exceptional; inconspicuous; ordinary; plebeian; -- often in a depreciatory sense. The honest, heart-felt enjoyment of common life. --W. Irving. This fact was infamous And ill beseeming any common man, Much more a knight, a captain and a leader. --Shak. Above the vulgar flight of common souls. --A. Murphy. 5. Profane; polluted. [Obs.] What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. --Acts x. 15. 6. Given to habits of lewdness; prostitute. A dame who herself was common. --L'Estrange. Common bar (Law) Same as Blank bar, under Blank. Common barrator (Law), one who makes a business of instigating litigation. Common Bench, a name sometimes given to the English Court of Common Pleas. Common brawler (Law), one addicted to public brawling and quarreling. See Brawler. Common carrier (Law), one who undertakes the office of carrying (goods or persons) for hire. Such a carrier is bound to carry in all cases when he has accommodation, and when his fixed price is tendered, and he is liable for all losses and injuries to the goods, except those which happen in consequence of the act of God, or of the enemies of the country, or of the owner of the property himself. Common chord (Mus.), a chord consisting of the fundamental tone, with its third and fifth. Common council, the representative (legislative) body, or the lower branch of the representative body, of a city or other municipal corporation. Common crier, the crier of a town or city. Common divisor (Math.), a number or quantity that divides two or more numbers or quantities without a remainder; a common measure. Common gender (Gram.), the gender comprising words that may be of either the masculine or the feminine gender. Common law, a system of jurisprudence developing under the guidance of the courts so as to apply a consistent and reasonable rule to each litigated case. It may be superseded by statute, but unless superseded it controls. --Wharton. Note: It is by others defined as the unwritten law (especially of England), the law that receives its binding force from immemorial usage and universal reception, as ascertained and expressed in the judgments of the courts. This term is often used in contradistinction from statute law. Many use it to designate a law common to the whole country. It is also used to designate the whole body of English (or other) law, as distinguished from its subdivisions, local, civil, admiralty, equity, etc. See Law. Common lawyer, one versed in common law. Common lewdness (Law), the habitual performance of lewd acts in public. Common multiple (Arith.) See under Multiple. Common noun (Gram.), the name of any one of a class of objects, as distinguished from a proper noun (the name of a particular person or thing). Common nuisance (Law), that which is deleterious to the health or comfort or sense of decency of the community at large. Common pleas, one of the three superior courts of common law at Westminster, presided over by a chief justice and four puisne judges. Its jurisdiction is confined to civil matters. Courts bearing this title exist in several of the United States, having, however, in some cases, both civil and criminal jurisdiction extending over the whole State. In other States the jurisdiction of the common pleas is limited to a county, and it is sometimes called a county court. Its powers are generally defined by statute. Common prayer, the liturgy of the Church of England, or of the Protestant Episcopal church of the United States, which all its clergy are enjoined to use. It is contained in the Book of Common Prayer. Common school, a school maintained at the public expense, and open to all. Common scold (Law), a woman addicted to scolding indiscriminately, in public. Common seal, a seal adopted and used by a corporation. Common sense. (a) A supposed sense which was held to be the common bond of all the others. [Obs.] --Trench. (b) Sound judgment. See under Sense. Common time (Mus.), that variety of time in which the measure consists of two or of four equal portions. In common, equally with another, or with others; owned, shared, or used, in community with others; affecting or affected equally. Out of the common, uncommon; extraordinary. Tenant in common, one holding real or personal property in common with others, having distinct but undivided interests. See Joint tenant, under Joint. To make common cause with, to join or ally one's self with. Syn: General; public; popular; national; universal; frequent; ordinary; customary; usual; familiar; habitual; vulgar; mean; trite; stale; threadbare; commonplace. See Mutual, Ordinary, General.
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