uncommon English · revision 15309

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1548}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ʌnˈkɒmən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|en|un-|common]], un- meaning not.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Not possessed in common, a rare sense: 1548 in the OED, the 1540s in Etymonline;^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster dates its first sense to about 1576.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Not commonly met with, unusual or rare, is from the 1610s (1611 in the OED),^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and unusual in amount or degree, remarkably great, by 1700.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The adverb uncommonly is by 1747, often in ''not uncommonly''.^(Etymonline) Uncommon as an adverb itself, ''uncommon kind'', is dialectal or colloquial by 1784,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and the English Dialect Dictionary records it in general dialect use in Scotland, Ireland and England.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1548 – not held in common.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1611 – unusual, rare.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1700 – remarkably great.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1784 – uncommon (adverb, dialect).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Not often found or seen; [[unusual]], [[rare]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Remarkable; more than is usual: ''an uncommon liking for honey''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # ''(archaic or dialect)'' [[uncommonly|alt=Uncommonly]]; very.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[uncommonly]]

+ * [[uncommonness]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[common]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}