Main Entry: ¹com·mon

Pronunciation: \ˈkä-mən\

Function: adjective

Etymology: Middle English commun, from Anglo-French, from Latin communis — more at mean

Date: 13th century

1 a : of or relating to a community at large : public <work for the common good> b : known to the community <common nuisances>
2 a : belonging to or shared by two or more individuals or things or by all members of a group <a common friend> <buried in a common grave> b : belonging equally to two or more mathematical entities <triangles with a common base> c : having two or more branches <common carotid artery>
3 a : occurring or appearing frequently : familiar <a common sight> b : of the best known or most frequently seen kind —used especially of plants and animals <the common housefly> c : vernacular 2 <common names>
4 a : widespread, general <common knowledge> b : characterized by a lack of privilege or special status <common people> c : just satisfying accustomed criteria : elementary <common decency>
5 a : falling below ordinary standards : second-rate b : lacking refinement : coarse
6 : denoting nominal relations by a single linguistic form that in a more highly inflected language might be denoted by two or more different forms <common gender> <common case>
7 : of, relating to, or being common stock

— com·mon·ly adverb

— com·mon·ness \-mən-nəs\ noun

synonyms common, ordinary, plain, familiar, popular, vulgar mean generally met with and not in any way special, strange, or unusual. common implies usual everyday quality or frequency of occurrence <a common error> <lacked common honesty> and may additionally suggest inferiority or coarseness <common manners>. ordinary stresses conformance in quality or kind with the regular order of things <an ordinary pleasant summer day> <a very ordinary sort of man>. plain is likely to suggest homely simplicity <plain hard-working people>. familiar stresses the fact of being generally known and easily recognized <a familiar melody>. popular applies to what is accepted by or prevalent among people in general sometimes in contrast to upper classes or special groups <a writer of popular romances>. vulgar, otherwise similar to popular, is likely to carry derogatory connotations (as of inferiority or coarseness) <souvenirs designed to appeal to the vulgar taste>.