commonness 
Commonness (kom'on-ncs), . The. state or 
fact of being common; frequent occurrence; 
frequency. 
commonplace (kom'on-plaH), . and a. [< eom- 
IIKIH + j>l<n-<; a naanu heading or rule (see 
I'lniiiiiiiii I'ldi'i', under ciniiiiiiin, n.), with exten- 
sion of meaning according to other senses of 
riiniiiiiiii.] I. >i. 1. A memorandum of some- 
thing that is likely to bo again referred to; a 
fact or quotation or argument that is or may 
lie made useful in one or another way or in a 
variety of ways, and so is made note of for 
handy use. 
\\ hntcvt-r lu my small reading occurs concerning tills 
nur fellow-creature (the ass), I do never fall U> set It down 
hy way of etnninnit /,/</<>>. 
>',/>, Mechanical Operations of the Spirit (dr. I \l>.i. 
Nor ran e excuse an author if his page does nut tempt 
UK to copy passages into onrcviittiituifltii-''*, for i| notation. 
proverbs, meditation, or other uses. 
AUoll, Tablets, ]>. 131. 
2. A well-known, customary, orobvious remark ; 
a trite or uninteresting saying. 
It is it cumiiKiHidttcf that writer* who jMmsess a combi- 
nation of hrllliant qualities arc l>y no means tin- IK-HI 
judges of what constitutes their chief strength. 
','"<'/'. fi.i /,'- , 
It is ;. '-"uniti'ii i>fii'-'' indeed to a-sert tbat tin- order ol 
the universe remains the same, however our impressions 
niiiy change in regunl to it. 
T. II. Urn a. Prolegomena to Ethics, j W. 
3. Anything occurring frequently or habitu- 
ally; anything of ordinary or usual character; 
especially, anything that is so common as to be 
uninteresting; such common things collectively. 
TIloU Unassuming <'ftn>im>n/,Jn,;- 
Of Nature, with that homely face, 
Ami yet with something of a grace, 
Which Love makes for tin < : 
\\'i,r<i*ii-wth. To the Same Flower (Daisy]. 
1 1 .'t.% 
nhape t>car the Impress of history. The term commntu 
i- not in itself an appropriate expression for the thud 
estate ; it does not signify primarily the simple fn-enn 
the plebs, I, Ml the plebs olgiiniscd ;Uhl combined ill en|-| 
rate coinnninitlei*, In a particular way for particular pi 
poses. The i-tiiit mutt* are the " comm imitate^ or mm. 
He was a frontless, arrogant, decorous slip of the com- 
, insipid. 
Charlotte Bronte, Shirley, iv. 
, , 
inon-place ; conceited, inane, insipid. 
arl 
II. a. 1. Not novel or striking; trite; hack- 
neyed: as, a commonplace remark. 
Some trite, commonplace sentence, to prove the value 
and tieetness of time. Chetterjield, Letters. 
2. Ordinary; common j uninteresting; without 
originality or marked individuality : as, a com- 
monplace person. 
Harvey, . . . however, professes to be quite a common- 
place philosopher. Craik, Hist. Eng. Lit., II. 137. 
Commonplace people are only commonplace from char- 
acter, and no position affects that. 
R. T. Cooke, Somebody's Neighbor*, p. 31. 
commonplace (kom'on-plas), v.; pret. and pp. 
commonplaced, ppr. commonplacing. [< com- 
monplace, n.] I. trans. To enter particulars 
regarding in a commonplace-book. 
Collecting and commonplacing an universal history. 
Fetton. 
II. intrant. To indulge in commonplace state- 
ments. 
Kor the good that comes of particular and select com- 
mittees and commissions, I need not commonplace. 
Bacon, To King James. 
commonplace-book (kom'on-plas-buk), n. A 
book in which things especially to be remem- 
bered or referred to are recorded methodically. 
Yam commonplace-book where stray jokes and pilfered 
witticisms are kept with as much method as the ledger of 
the lost and stolen office. Sheridan, The Critic, I. 1. 
conunonplaceness (kom'on-plas-nes), n. The 
quality of being commonplace or trite and un- 
interesting. 
The naive commonplaceiusf of feeling in all matrimo- 
nial transactions, in spite of the gloss which the operatic 
methods of courtship threw about them, was a source of 
endless amusement. Uowellt, Venetian Life, xl\. 
Our Vicar . . . happens to be rather drowsy and even 
depressing in the monotony of his romnWMlwMMf, 
W. Black, Phaeton, xix. 
commons (kom'onz), n. pi. [< ME. comons, 
comount, comynsjpl. otcomon, etc.: see common, 
w.] 1. The people; especially, the common 
people as distinguished from their rulers or a 
ruling class; hence, the mean; the vulgar; the 
rabble. 
The left comount folowid the arke. 
H'yclif, Josh. vJ, 9 (Oxf.). 
Thaune come there a kyng knyjthod hym ladde, 
Migt of the eonmnei made hym to regne. 
Piers Plowman (B), Prol., L 113. 
What comyn folke is so mighty, so strong in the felde, 
as the corny tut of England? 
Englith Slate Papers (1515), quoted In Froude's Hist. 
[Eng., I. 27. 
specifically 2. The freemen of England as 
organized in their early shires, municipalities, 
and guilds; the represented people. 
The three estates of clergy, lords, and commons finally 
emerge as the political constituents of the nation, or, in 
their parliamentary form, as the lords spiritual and tem- 
poral and the common*. This familiar formula in either 
litates," the organised liodies * ) thaihlnsi 1 
town* ; a II- 1 the estate of the ,<.,,{,/",< Is the " cumin HI 
tuconiiiiiinitatiiio. ' the general liody into which for the 
I-iirp'".' ot pat [lament those eommuniticH arc combine'!. 
The term, then, as descriptive of the elas-t of men w liicb i- 
ncltlier noble nor clerical, is drawn from the politi. al 
1,1, abulary, ami does not represent any primary dintlnc 
lion of clan. Sluliun, Count. Hist., | 1&6. 
3. In the United Kingdom of Great Britain 
and Ireland, and in the Dominion of Canada, 
the lower liou.se of Parliament, consisting in 
both instances of the commoners chosen by the 
people as their representatives; the House of 
Commons. This title was also given to the lower 
branch of the legislature of North Carolina f nun 
177(i to 1868. 4. Food provided at a common 
table, as in colleges, where many persons eat 
at the same table or in the same hall ; also, a 
college ordinary ; food or fare in general. 
I km' we neure card Mia I that he lie cam fro the pope, 
And wo clerkes, whan they come for her (their) rniu>' 
payeth, 
Kor her pelure and her palfreyes met, 
J'ien J'loirmitn (li), xix. 412. 
Their .,;,,,;.,-. though but coarse, were nothing scant. 
Drgdtn 
Most of . . . [the elders) were it..t prc-ent at this first 
coniniciiccinciil, and ilineil at the college with the scholars' 
arttairj atmmmu. U'iiMro/i, Hist. \.-\\ Kn-iau.i. n in 
I'-'iiiiiutnt, . . . the studenU' daily rations, either of 
meat in hall, or of bread and butter for breakfast and tea. 
C. A. Brinted, English University, p. 41. 
Doctors' Commons, the familiar name of the buildings, 
erected in 1508, formerly occupied by the College of Ad- 
vocates ill London, where the civilians, or proctors and 
professors (doctors) of the civil law, used to common to- 
gether. The buildings, situated near St. Paul's Cathedral, 
included a court-house for the ecclesiastical courts and 
the principal registry of wills for England. They were 
taken down In 1867, and the registry of wills was llnalh 
established in Somerset House in 1874. 
Doctors' Common*, which had dwelt before in Pater- 
noster Row or at the Queen's Head, under the auspices of 
Dr. Henry Harvey, built it self a new home, with hall and 
library and plate, and privileges for Importing wine. 
Sluubt, Medieval and Modern Hist., p. 325. 
Short commons, insufficient fare ; scant diet ; small al- 
lowance. 
There were which grudged that others had too much and 
they too little, the Grecian widows shorter common! than 
the Hebrews. Hooker, Eccles. Polity, v. 78. 
Very welcome seemed the generous meal, after a week 
of suffering, exposure, and ihort commoni. 
L. M. Alcott, Hospital Sketches, p. 34. 
To be In commons with, to feed with ; share with. 
Thy melancholy cat, that keeps thy study, ui'fA whom 
thou art in eomuwtu, and dost feed on rats. 
Shirley, The Wedding, iv. 3. 
common-sense (kom'on-sens'), a. [Attrib. use 
of the phrase common sense: see common, a.] 
Characterized by common or good sense: as, 
he took a common-sense view of the question. 
See common sense, under common, ._Syn In 
tflliffent, etc. See KtmribU. 
commonsensible (kom-on-sen'si-bl), a. [< com- 
mon-sense, a., + -ible.] Having or manifesting 
common or good sense; intelligent; discrimi- 
nating: as, a commonseiisiblc person or opinion. 
[Colloq.] . 
commonty 1 (kom'on-ti), n.; pi. commonties 
(-tiz). [Also formerly commenty; < ME. cotn- 
unety, comouitte, < OF. communite : see commu- 
nity.'] If. Community. 
No man shall make yates or gapes in the common feild, 
upon the corne or grasse of his neighbors, but by the con- 
sent of [the] commonly. EnglM Gilds (E. E. T. S.), p. 434. 
2f. The commonalty; the common people. 
The raorowe erly wolde he ride toward the plain of 
Salisbery, where-as the comounte of the peple sholde as- 
semble. Merlin (E. E. T. S.), ill. 674. 
Hod gruunt tlie nobilitle hlr to serue and loue, 
With all the whole commontie as doth them behoue. 
Udall, Roister Doister, v. e. 
3. In Scots law, a piece of land belonging to 
two or more common proprietors, and in gen- 
eral burdened with sundry inferior rights of 
servitude, such as feal and divot, etc. ; a com- 
mon. 
commonty 2 t (kom'on-ti), . A corruption of 
comedy. 
Is not a commonty a Christmas gambol, or a tumbling- 
trick? SAo*., T. of the S., Ind., ft. 
commonweal (kom'on-wel'), w. [< ME. comon 
wele, comyn weele, etc. ; < common + weal 1 .} 1. 
The public good; the common welfare of the 
nation or community. 
The comyn tpeele, welfare, and prosperite of the seid cite, 
accordyuge tu the kyugs lawes, alwey kept and foneyn. 
Kn.,tih Gildt (E. E. T. S.). p. 407. 
oommos 
We nre to loli-ifb r who pnrlicipate directly or iiei 
1> in let-Miillon and di ItU-i at |. i, l,,i I , ,al. 
' p. 3 IS. 
2. A commonwealth; the body politic; a com- 
munity. [Now little used.] 
An oi.i, i . .iii-hing the 
manner of th. 
eall the Law of a Cimu 
the parU whereof ited, held to- 
^ action^ as Mi' i "Minion 
PI III. //,... 
So klml n father ol the 
.s'Aiii.. I Hen. VI., lit 1. 
Many excellent l.k hath this man . . . [Uaac Casa- 
lionan] set forth, to the great beneflte and utility of th 
Common-Weale of leurnluk:. Coryai, Cnidlttra, I. 42. 
commonwealth (koin'on-welth'), M. [<<xwmo 
+ icmllli ; (M|uiv. to rommona-eal, the earlier 
term.] 1. The whole body of people inastate; 
the body jiolitic ; the public. 
You arc a good incnil>ei ..i tb.- <-ntninimtctalth. 
Xluil:. I. I.. L.. ir. i 
TU the Inclusive spirit that holds bodiei together and 
advances the cointnontrralth of mankind. 
Alaili, Table-Talk, p. 97. 
Specifically 2. The republican or democrat io 
form of government ; a government chosen di- 
reetly by the people; a republican or demo- 
cratic state: as, the commonwealth of England 
(which see, below), in the United SUt, Muwchn- 
setts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Kentucky are officially 
sl.\bd commonwealths. 
Trade flourishes nowhere more than in the free com- 
monureaUhi of Italy, Germany, and the Low Countries. 
Ailton, Free Commonwealth. 
For the very essence of monarchy Is rule over others; 
the essence of a commonirfalth is self-rule ; if it takes on 
Itself the rule of others, it becomes a coi-porate king. 
K. A. Freeman, Anier. Lecta., p. 335. 
3. An association of actors who take shares in 
the receipts, in lieu of salaries. The common- 
wealth 01 England, the designation applied officially to 
the form of government existing in England from the abo- 
lition of the monarchy In February, Itwa, after the execu- 
tion of Charles I., till the establishment of the protector- 
ate under Cromwell In December, 1663, but often loosely 
used of the whole interval from the death of Charles I. to 
the restoration of Charles II. In May, 1UOO. During the 
former period, or that of the real commonwealth, the gov- 
ernment was vested in a Council of state composed of 
members of the House of Commons, and the Home of 
Lords was abolished. 
commonwealth's-man (kom'on-welths'man), 
n. One who favored the English commonwealth. 
Thomas Parnell was the son of a Comuwnuxalth't-man 
of the same name. Johnson, ParuelL 
commonyet, M. [A ppar. for commoniny, verbal n. 
at common, v. (I., 2).] Discourse; communing. 
He was set by King Arthurs Led -side, 
To heere theire talke, and thelre com'nye. 
Ballad / Kiny Arthur (Child's Ballads, L 2S7X 
commorance, commorancy (kom'o-rans, -ran- 
si), w. [< ctnnmirrnnl '.: see -ance, -ancy.] "In 
late , a dwelling or ordinary residence in a place ; 
the abiding in or inhabiting of a place. 
('omtiitinnirii consists III usually lying there. 
Blaclutone, Com., iv. 19. 
commorant (kom'6-rant), a. and n. [< L. com- 
moran(t-)s, ppr. of commorari, abide, sojourn, 
< com- (intensive) + morari, stay, delay, < mo- 
ra, delay. See demur.'} I. o. Dwelling; ordi- 
narily residing; inhabiting: now only in legal 
phraseology. 
He was commorant in the university. 
Quoted in Bacon'* Advancement of Learning, Pref., p. iii. 
The Italian and also most strangers that are commorant 
in Italy doe alwaies at their meales use a little forke (1608 1. 
Coryat, Crudities, I. 106. 
Il.t ". [ML. commorans in villa.'] In the Uni- 
versity of Cambridge, England, a graduate resi- 
dent within the precincts of the university and 
a member of the senate, but not belonging to a 
college. 
Rabbi Jacob, a Jew born, whom I remember for a long 
time a commorant in the I'nfversity. 
Bp. Haeket, Abp. Williams, i. 10. 
commoration, (kom-o-ra'shon), n. [< L. com- 
moratio(n-),<.commorari, pp. cotnmoratus, abide : 
see commorant.'] A staying, tarrying, or so- 
journing: as, "his commoration among them," 
Bp. Hall. 
commorientt (ko-mo'ri-ent), a. [< L. commo- 
rien(t-)s, ppr. of common, die together or at the 
same time, < com-, together, + mori, die.] Dy- 
ing at the same time. 
Commorient fates and tunes. 
Sir O. Bade, Hist. Rich, in., p. Mi. 
commorset (ko-m6rs')> . [Formed on the model 
of remorse.] Compassion ; pity ; sympathy. 
Yet doth calamity attract comntortie. 
Daniel, Civil Wan, I. 46. 
CommOB (kom'os), . ; pi. commoi (-oi). [Or. 
"//. a lamenting song, a beating of the breast 
in lamentation, ong. a striking, < MJ-rnv, strike. 
