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com·mon

Audio Help [kom-uh

n] Pronunciation Key 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.	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.

—Antonyms 1. individual. 5. unusual.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Commonest

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

com·mon Audio Help (kŏm'ən) Pronunciation Key
adj. com·mon·er, com·mon·est

1. Belonging equally to or shared equally by two or more; joint: common interests.
2. Of or relating to the community as a whole; public: for the common good. See Usage Note at mutual.
3. Occurring frequently or habitually; usual.
4. Most widely known; ordinary: the common housefly.
5. Not distinguished by superior or noteworthy characteristics; average: the common spectator.
6. Of no special quality; standard: common procedure.
7. Of mediocre or inferior quality; second-rate: common cloth.
8. Either masculine or feminine in gender.
9. Representing one or all of the members of a class; not designating a unique entity.
Widespread; prevalent.
1. Occurring frequently or habitually; usual.
2. Most widely known; ordinary: the common housefly.
3. Not distinguished by superior or noteworthy characteristics; average: the common spectator.
4. Of no special quality; standard: common procedure.
5. Of mediocre or inferior quality; second-rate: common cloth.
6. Either masculine or feminine in gender.
7. 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.
1. Not distinguished by superior or noteworthy characteristics; average: the common spectator.
2. Of no special quality; standard: common procedure.
3. Of mediocre or inferior quality; second-rate: common cloth.
4. Either masculine or feminine in gender.
5. 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
1. Either masculine or feminine in gender.
2. Representing one or all of the members of a class; not designating a unique entity.

commons The common people; commonalty.
commons (used with a sing. or pl. verb)
1. The social class composed of commoners.
2. 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.