| common denominator |
a number that is a common multiple of the denominators of more than one fraction. [2 definitions] |
| commoner |
one of the common people, as opposed to the aristocracy or the upper classes. |
| Common Era |
see "Christian Era." |
| common fraction |
a fraction represented by a numerator, above a horizontal or diagonal line, and a denominator below. (Cf. decimal fraction.) |
| common law |
law based on custom or usage and on court decisions and opinions, rather than on statute. (Cf. statute law.) |
| common-law marriage |
a marriage not contracted through a religious or civil ceremony but recognized as legal after the partners have lived together for a legally specified period of time. |
| commonly |
ordinarily; usually. [2 definitions] |
| Common Market |
an economic association of major western European countries mainly designed to eliminate tariffs on trade among member nations and establish uniform tariffs on goods from other countries; European Economic Community. [2 definitions] |
| common noun |
a noun, such as "boy," "poodle," or "town," that refers to a class, or to an unspecified member of a class, of persons, places, things, or the like, and that is often preceded by an article. (Cf. proper noun.) |
| commonplace |
unremarkable or ordinary. [4 definitions] |
| commonplace book |
a notebook in which one records quotations, poems, extracts, thoughts, and the like. |
| common sense |
practical judgment based on experience or native intelligence, and not on education or training. |
| common stock |
ordinary capital shares of a corporation that often provide dividends and confer voting privileges, but that place their owners' claims, in the event the corporation liquidates, below those of holders of preferred stocks or bonds. |
| common time |
a musical meter of four beats, usu. quarter notes, to the measure; four-four time. |
| commonweal |
the public welfare; common good. |
| commonwealth |
a political unit, usu. a state or nation, or the people thereof. [3 definitions] |
| Commonwealth Day |
in much of the British Commonwealth, the second Monday in March, when the Commonwealth is recognized. |
| Commonwealthmen |
group of British thinkers and reformers whose ideas of republicanism, civic virtue, and liberty had an influence on the leaders of the American Revolution. |
| commotion |
an agitated or noisy disturbance. [2 definitions] |
| communal |
of or pertaining to a community or a commune. [2 definitions] |
| communalism |
a theory or system of government in which local communities or communes have virtual autonomy within a loose federation. [2 definitions] |