Nearby Words
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.
d.
(initial capital letter) the House of Commons.
19.
commons,
a.
(used with a singular verb) 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.
c.
(usually used with a plural verb) food or provisions for any group.
20.
EXPAND(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, 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.
:10
:09
:08
:07
:06
:05
:04
:03
:02
:01
Commons
is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
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. 2012.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
|
Link To Commons
Collins
World English Dictionary
| Commons (ˈkɒmənz) | |
| —n | |
| the Commons See House of Commons | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
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.
commons
"the third estate of the English people as represented in Parliament," late 14c., from common.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia
commons
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 commons with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Word Dynamo By Dictionary.com
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.