Webster's English Dictionary

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common

Cross references:
  1. reciprocal            
 
1. com.mon \'ka:m-*n\ \-*n-n*s\ aj [ME commun, fr. OF, fr. L communis - 
   more at MEAN] 1a: of or relating to a community at large : PUBLIC  1b: 
   known to the community {~ nuisance}  2a: belonging to or shared by two or 
   more individuals or by all members of  a group 2b: belonging equally to two 
   or more quantities  2c: having two or more branches {~ carotid artery}  3a: 
   occurring or appearing frequently : FAMILIAR  3b: of the best known kind {~ 
   salt}  4a: WIDESPREAD, GENERAL {~ knowledge}  4b: characterized by a lack 
   of privilege or special status {~ peop le} 4c: ELEMENTARY, SIMPLE {~ 
   decency}  5a: falling below ordinary standards : SECOND-RATE  5b: lacking 
   refinement  5c: completely unprincipled  of gender  6a: either masculine or 
   feminine  of a substantive  6b: naming any of a class of beings or things  
   of a grammatical case  6c: denoting relations by a single form that in a 
   more highly inflected la nguage might be denoted by two or more different 
   case formsON implies usual everyday quality or frequency of occurrence and 
   occasionally connotes inferiority; ORDINARY stresses accordance in quality 
   or kind with the regular order of things rather than frequency; FAMILIAR 
   stresses the fact of being generally known and easily recognized; POPULAR 
   applies to what is accepted by or prevalent among people in general 
   sometimes in contrast to upper classes or special groups; VULGAR may 
   occasionally apply to popular esp. as opposed to the learned but nearly 
   always now connotes crudeness of manners or taste - com.mon.ly av SYN syn 
   ORDINARY, FAMILIAR, POPULAR, VULGAR: COMM 
2. common n pl  1: the common people  pl but sing in constr  2: a dining 
   hall  pl but sing or pl in constr, often cap  3a: the political group or 
   estate comprising the commoners  3b: the parliamentary representatives of 
   the commoners  3c: HOUSE OF COMMONS  4: the legal right of taking a profit 
   in another's land in common with the  owner 5: a piece of land subject to 
   common use : as  5a: undivided land used esp. for pasture  5b: a public 
   open area in a municipality  6a: a religious service suitable for any of 
   various festivals  6b: the ordinary of the mass  1: shared together  2: in 
   a community  - in common