common

A2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈkɑ.mən/ UK /ˈkɒm.ən/ See IPA manual

Freq #1373

Meanings

1

adj
Happening or found often; usual.

It is common to find sharks off this coast.
2

adj
Shared by two or more people or groups.

The two competitors have the common aim of winning the championship.
3

adj
Ordinary, with nothing special about it.

It was just a common garden flower, nothing rare.
4

adj
Known or shared by almost everyone; general.

It is common knowledge that smoking is harmful.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · happening or found often;... usual normal ordinary

2 adj · shared by two or more... mutual shared joint

4 adj · known or shared by almost... general universal

More average basicbog-standardeveryday frequent habitualnonrarepedestrian plain quotidian regular

Opposites

abnormal atypical endangered exceptional exotic extraordinary rare strange uncommon unconventional unique unusual

Word family

Forms commonercommonestcommonnercommonnesscommonnestcommons

Related forms frequency mediocre normal

Appears in

Phrases (6)

See all

common mistake
an error that many people frequently make

Adjective + noun
common sense
sound practical judgment based on experience rather than theory

Adjective + noun
common ancestor
an earlier person, organism, or language from which two or more later ones developed

Adjective + noun
common denominator
a number divisible by the denominators of each fraction being compared or combined

Adjective + noun
common fate
a perceptual principle by which elements moving together are seen as one group

Adjective + noun
common core
the central set of features or elements shared by several things

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Middle English comun, from Anglo-Norman comun, from Old French comun (rare in the Gallo-Romance languages, but reinforced as a Carolingian calque of Proto-West Germanic *gamainī (“common”) in Old French), from Latin commūnis (“common, public, general”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱom-moy-ni-s (“held in common”), from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“to exchange, change”). Displaced native Middle English imene, ȝemǣne (“common, general, universal”) (from Old English ġemǣne (“common, universal”)), Middle English mene, mǣne (“mean, common”) (also from Old English ġemǣne (“common, universal”)), Mid…

*mey- (change) Proto-Indo-European comun Middle English commūnis Latin *mey- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Register & Style

External links

# common

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈkɑ.mən/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkɒm.ən/
**Frequency rank:** 1373

## Meanings
1. Happening or found often; usual.
2. Shared by two or more people or groups.
3. Ordinary, with nothing special about it.
4. Known or shared by almost everyone; general.

## Examples
- It is common to find sharks off this coast.
- The two competitors have the common aim of winning the championship.
- It was just a common garden flower, nothing rare.
- It is common knowledge that smoking is harmful.

## Synonyms
- average
- basic
- bog-standard
- everyday
- frequent
- general
- habitual
- nonrare
- pedestrian
- plain
- quotidian
- regular

## Antonyms
- abnormal
- atypical
- endangered
- exceptional
- exotic
- extraordinary
- rare
- strange
- uncommon
- unconventional
- unique
- unusual

## Related Forms
- frequency
- mediocre
- normal

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *mey- (change)
- Root: comun
- Root: commūnis
- Root: *mey-

## Etymology
From Middle English comun, from Anglo-Norman comun, from Old French comun (rare in the Gallo-Romance languages, but reinforced as a Carolingian calque of Proto-West Germanic *gamainī (“common”) in Old French), from Latin commūnis (“common, public, general”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱom-moy-ni-s (“held in common”), from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“to exchange, change”). Displaced native Middle English imene, ȝemǣne (“common, general, universal”) (from Old English ġemǣne (“common, universal”)), Middle English mene, mǣne (“mean, common”) (also from Old English ġemǣne (“common, universal”)), Mid…

## AI Etymology
common is an adjective. It is from Middle English comun, from Anglo-Norman comun, from Old French comun (rare in the Gallo-Romance languages, but reinforced as a Carolingian calque of Proto-West Germanic *gamainī (“common”) in Old French), from Latin commūnis (“common, public, general”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱom-moy-ni-s (“held in common”), from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“to exchange, change”). Historical forms in the chain include *mey- (change) (Proto-Indo-European), comun (Middle English), comun (Anglo-Norman), comun (Old French), commūnis (Latin), and *mey- (Proto-Indo-European). Current senses include happening or found often; usual, shared by two or more people or groups, and ordinary, with nothing special about it. Related words include frequency, mediocre, and normal.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Register & Style

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