common

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈkɒm.ən/, US /ˈkɑː.mən/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English commune, borrowed from Old French comun (“common, general, free, open, public”),^[2][3][4] from Latin commūnis (“in common, public, shared by all; general; familiar”),^[3][2][5] Old Latin comoinis,^[6][7] formed from com- (“together”) and the base of mūnus (“office, duty”) and mūnia (“public duties”),^[2][3][7] so that the word first meant “sharing burdens”.^[2] Etymonline reconstructs Proto-Indo-European *ko-moin-i- (“held in common”), from *mei- (“to change, go, move”).^[3][5] The Old French word may have been reinforced by the Frankish cognate of Old English gemǣne (“common”) and German gemein.^[3][6] It is related to mean, “low”, commune, communicate and municipal.^[2][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Belonging to all, shared by more than one: before 1300^[2][8] or about 1300.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The word has been used disparagingly of women and criminals since about 1300.^[3] “Belonging to all mankind” is from 1375,^[8] and “general, of general application” from about 1380.^[8] “Usual, of frequent occurrence” and, of things, “ordinary, not excellent” are from the late 14th century,^[3] and “not distinguished, of the general mass” from about 1400.^[3] Common pleas, civil actions between subjects, is a 13th-century term.^[3] The noun meant a fellowship or brotherhood about 1300,^[2][3] the common people before 1300,^[8] and land held in common from 1479^[8] or the late 15th century.^[3] In law, the right to use another's land, as for pasture, is a common from about 1386.^[8] Common stock is from 1888.^[3]

Timeline

• before 1300 – belonging to all.^[2][8]
• c. 1300 – noun, a fellowship.^[2]
• c. 1300 – disparaging, of women and criminals.^[3]
• 1375 – belonging to all mankind.^[8]
• c. 1386 – right of common, in law.^[8]
• late 14th century – usual; ordinary.^[3]
• 1479 – common land.^[8]
• 1888 – common stock.^[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Shared by two or more; joint.
2. Of the community as a whole; public.
3. Widespread; occurring often; usual.
4. Without special rank or status; ordinary.
5. Of no special quality; coarse or vulgar.
6. (grammar) Of a noun, naming any member of a class.

Noun

1. A tract of land belonging to or used by a whole community.
2. (law) The right to use another's land, as for pasture.
3. (archaic) The common people.

Word family

• commonly
• commonness

Related words

• commons
• commoner
• commonwealth
• commune
• communicate
• community
• municipal
• mean

Usage notes

The American Heritage Dictionary compares common with ordinary, familiar, vulgar and general.^[9] In Ireland common was a game like hockey, and the curved stick used in it.^[10]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
6. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
10. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)