English Explanatory Dictionary

common

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Mutual; shared by more than one.
  2. Of a quality: existing among virtually all people; universal.
  3. Occurring or happening regularly or frequently; usual.
  4. Found in large numbers or in a large quantity; usual.
  5. Simple, ordinary or vulgar.
  6. As part of the vernacular name of a species, usually denoting that it is abundant or widely known.
  7. Vernacular, referring to the name of a kind of plant or animal.
  8. Arising from use or tradition, as opposed to being created by a legislative body.
  9. Of, pertaining or belonging to the common gender.
  10. Of or pertaining to common nouns as opposed to proper nouns.
  11. Profane; polluted.
  12. Given to lewd habits; prostitute.
noun
  1. Mutual good, shared by more than one.
  2. A tract of land in common ownership; common land.
  3. The people; the community.
  4. 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.
verb
  1. To communicate (something).
  2. To converse, talk.
  3. To have sex.
  4. To participate.
  5. To have a joint right with others in common ground.
  6. To board together; to eat at a table in common.
name
  1. A surname.
name
  1. Denoting the name of a universal language in various works.

Pronunciation

kŏm'ən /ˈkɒm.ən/ en-GB-common.ogg kä'mən /ˈkɑ.mən/ /ˈkɑ.mɪn/ en-us-common.ogg LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-common.wav kŏm'ŭn /ˈkɒm.ʌn/

Word forms

common commoner most common commonest commons commoning commoned

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 and mean.

Synonyms

average basic bog-standard common common as bums common as dirt common as muck common as pig tracks dime a dozen everyday frequent general habitual nonrare par for the course pedestrian plain quotidian regular routinary routine ten a penny two a penny usual workaday mutual shared collective corporate joint united catholic ecumenical generic nonsingular nonspecific universal unparticular unsingular unspecific normal ordinary standard extensive prevalent ubiquitous disseminated far-flung pervasive predominant prevailing regnant rife spread out systemic widespread common-or-garden medial commonplace common-and-garden

Antonyms

abnormal atypical exceptional exotic uncommon endangered extraordinary rare strange unconventional unique unusual personal individual peculiar first and last lone one one and only only single singular sole solitary unitary particular concrete discrete proper specific special aberrant alien anomalous as queer as Dick's hatband bizarre booky curious deviant discrepant eerie eldritch errant fey forby freak freakish freaky fremd funny heteroclite hinky incongruous incongruitous irregular kooky monstrous nonstandard odd outlandish

Related words

frequency mediocre normal feminine female masculine male neuter Galactic

Derived words

ASEAN Common Time Asian common toad by common consent commonable common adder common ageratum common agouti common alder) commonality common allamanda commonalty common amaranth common American shad common amsinckia common ancestor common-and-garden common antilog common antilogarithm common apricot common area common arrowhead common arum lily common as bums common as dirt common ash common as muck common asparagus beetle common as pig tracks common babbler common bamboo common barbel common barberry common barley common barn owl common basilisk common basil common bean common bearberry common bearded dragon common bear's breech common bedbug common beech common beet common beisa oryx common bent common bent-wing bat common big-eared bat common bile duct common birch common bird cherry common bistort common bittern common blackberry common blackbird common blackfish common black hawk common bladderwort common blanket octopus common bleak common blewit
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