Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Common in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels common as adjective. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913adjective
Common

[OE. commun, comon, OF. comun, F. commun, fr. L. communis; com- + munis ready to be of service; cf. Skr. mi to make fast, set up, build, Goth. gamains common, G. gemein, and E. mean low, common. Cf. Immunity, Commune, n. & v.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordcommon
Part of speechadjective
Historical etymology[OE. commun, comon, OF. comun, F. commun, fr. L. communis; com- + munis ready to be of service; cf. Skr. mi to make fast, set up, build, Goth. gamains common, G. gemein, and E. mean low, common. Cf. Immunity, Commune, n. & v.]
Selected historical definitionBelonging or relating equally, or similarly, to more than one; as, you and I have a common interest in the property.
Signed record IDwebster1913-common-adjective-ca5cec051500
Source locatorCIDE.C, paragraph 12246; Gutenberg eBook 661
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 661Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "common" is labeled adjective. Its etymology is recorded as: "[OE. commun, comon, OF. comun, F. commun, fr. L. communis; com- + munis ready to be of service; cf. Skr. mi to make fast, set up, build, Goth. gamains common, G. gemein, and E. mean low, common. Cf. Immunity, Commune, n. & v.]" The selected historical definition says: "Belonging or relating equally, or similarly, to more than one; as, you and I have a common interest in the property."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-09-05

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

More released C records

Every card owns a different source record and historical sense.

noun

Company

[F. compagnie, fr. OF. compaing. See Companion.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Care

[AS. caru, cearu; akin to OS. kara sorrow, Goth. kara, OHG chara, lament, and perh. to Gr. gh^rys voice. Not akin to cure. Cf. Chary.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Change

[F. change, fr. changer. See Change. v. t.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Came

[Cf. Scot. came, caim, comb, and OE. camet silver.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Course

[F. cours, course, L. cursus, fr. currere to run. See Current.]

Webster 1913 exact record

Browse released C records - browse all historical records.