Etymologically
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common

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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
  • 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)