Common

How to spell common

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce common

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does common mean?

1. adjectiveOccurring often or shared by many people; usual rather than rare.
2. nounA tract of open public land in or near a town, available for general use.

Common in a sentence

• adjective

  Spelling mistakes are a common problem even for skilled writers.

• noun

  Families gathered to walk their dogs across the village common.

• adjective

  It is common for prices to rise just before the holidays.

• noun

  The summer fair is held every year on the town common.

Where does common come from?

Language of origin: Latin

Common arrived in English in the 1200s from the Old French comun, which itself came from the Latin communis, an adjective meaning 'shared by all' or 'belonging to many'. The Latin word was built from com-, meaning 'together', and an element related to munus, meaning 'a duty, service, or gift', so the literal idea was of something held jointly because people share an obligation to it. From 'shared by everyone' the sense broadened naturally to 'ordinary' and 'frequently encountered', since whatever everyone has is rarely special. The same communis root gives us 'community', 'communal', and 'commune', all carrying that flavour of things held in common. The double m is the usual spelling trap, since the prefix com- meets a stem that also begins the central sound, and the final -on is a soft schwa that tempts writers toward -en or -an.

How the word is built

• com- (together, with)
• -mun (from munis: serving, obligation)
• -on (forming adjective)