commonsn.
/ˈkɒmənz/, U.S. /ˈkɑmənz/ Chiefly with plural agreement.
I. Common people; a body of people.
1. † b. The common or ordinary soldiers of an army. Obsolete.
a. Ordinary people as distinguished from the aristocracy or upper classes; commoners or common people regarded as a class or group. Now historical.As a translation of Latin plebs also occasionally with singular agreement.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > the common people > [noun]
folkc888
peoplea1325
frapec1330
commona1350
common peoplea1382
commonsa1382
commontya1387
communityc1400
meiniec1400
commonaltya1425
commonsa1500
vulgarsa1513
many1526
meinie1532
multitude1535
the many-headed beast (also monster)1537
number1542
ignobility1546
commonitya1550
popular1554
populace1572
popularya1578
vulgarity?1577
populacya1583
rout1589
the vulgar1590
plebs1591
mobile vulgusc1599
popularity1599
ignoble1603
the million1604
plebe1612
plebeity1614
the common filea1616
the herda1616
civils1644
commonality1649
democracy1656
menu1658
mobile1676
crowd1683
vulgusa1687
mob1691
Pimlico parliament?1774
citizenry1795
polloi1803
demos1831
many-headed1836
hoi polloi1837
the masses1837
citizenhood1843
John Q.1922
wimble-wamble1937
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1961) Josh. vi. 9 Þe left comunys [L. reliquum vulgus] folwede þe arke.
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1959) ix. vi. 83 A multitude of commonys of birth law.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) iii. ii. 131 Let but the Commons heare this Testament..And they would go and kisse dead Cæsars wounds. View more context for this quotation
1697 M. Martin in Philos. Trans. 1695–7 (Royal Soc.) 19 728 In many of the Isles, the Commons apply Spearwort for Pains of the Head.
1759 W. Robertson Hist. Scotl. I. v. 395 He was long and affectionately remembered among the commons by the name of the Good Regent.
1846 T. Arnold Hist. Rome I. ii. 28 The original Plebs, the commons of Rome.
1984 Oxf. Illustr. Hist. Brit. i. 4 [Pre-Roman] society divided broadly into a warrior aristocracy and a largely agricultural commons.
2014 TVEyes (Nexis) 29 Aug. This fear of the rise of the commons, of the common people, was in the literature too.
ΚΠ
c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 1651 Yemen on foote and comunes many oon.
a1600 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 205 The king was of haill number when he enterit to Stirling xxxm abill men, by the commones.
2. The body of citizens or inhabitants of a town or borough; the people of a nation, state, city, etc., considered collectively. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabitant > inhabitant according to environment > town- or city-dweller > [noun] > esp. as having civic rights > collectively
commona1382
commons1384
burgessdom1661
community1700
1384 Proclam. Sir Nicholas Brembre in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 32 (MED) That alle..vitaillers foreins..mowe come and selle hire forseid fissh and vitailles to the comunes of the same Citee, to lordes, and to alle other.
1467 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 386 Yf eny of the xlviij. lakke or dissease, that ther be then another chosen, of the moste sadde and sufficiant of the comyns wtyn the cite.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 142 The Commons of the Citie of London chose vnto their Maior for that yere Thomas fitz Thomas.
1700 J. Tyrrell Gen. Hist. Eng. II. viii. 983 The Commons or Community also chose Twelve Persons to represent them.
1790 Public Advertiser 17 Nov. The Commons of the town of Paris, with the Mayor at their head, went in a body yesterday to the National Assembly, to petition for the discharge of the Ministers, who are unworthy of the public trust.
1855 Gentleman's Mag. Dec. 630/2 The commons of the town were as unruly as their more rural countrymen, and would have risen with them.
2013 S. K. Cohn Pop. Protest in Late Medieval Eng. Towns xi. 241 Led by its mayor, the commons of Bristol ‘riotously assembled’ and destroyed the mills of the town's convent of St Augustine.
3. The members of a town or city council; esp. those of the Corporation of the City of London. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > local government body > [noun] > member of local government council > town-councillor > collectively
commons1384
regent1579
city father1834
1384 in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 25 The comunes..shulde chese the forseyde John Norhampton to be mair & non other.
1463 in R. R. Sharpe Cal. Let.-bks. London (1912) L. 41 The..kepyng of Neugate..be longen to the Maire Aldremen and Comons of the saide Citee. Therefore by thauctorite aforesaid it is ordeigned that the Newark..be..takene as a parte..of the saide prysone of Ludgate.
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) II. f. xli Than the Commons of ye Cytie..toke certayne of the Aldermen & caste theym in prysone, and Sequestryd theyr goodes & dispoyled moche therof.
1682 Modest Enq. Election Sheriffs London 43 It is enacted, ordained, and established by the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, and Commons in Common Council assembled.
1743 J. Digges La Touche (title) A second letter to the commons of the city of Dublin.
1850 Western Times (Exeter) 14 Dec. 3/4 On Tuesday last Her Majesty formally received the addresses from the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Commons of London.
1959 Act 7 & 8 Eliz. II c. 22 §197 Nothing in the Act shall be taken to diminish any of the powers, rights or privileges of the mayor, aldermen and commons of the City of London.
4.
a. The body of common people regarded as an estate of the realm (see estate n. 6a) and represented by the House of Commons of the United Kingdom (formerly England). Also occasionally: a similar class of people in another country. Now historical.The commons was originally regarded as the third estate of the body politic, distinct from that of the clergy and the nobility: see note at estate n. 6a.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > the common people > [noun] > as represented in Parliament
commona1350
commons1399
commonalty1450
third estate1604
commonage1651
third state1669
tiers état1783
1399 Rolls of Parl.: Henry IV (Electronic ed.) Parl. Oct. 1399 1st Roll §59. m. 17 The abbot of Glastenbury for abbotes and priours..the erle of Gloucestre for dukes and erles..Sire Thomas Irpyngham, chaumberleyn, for alle the bachilers and commons of this lond be southe.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) ii. l. 1055 Alle þe comons of þe lond with letter þam bond, & ilkon sette his seale þerto.
a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 114 The Ffrench kynge..toke vpon hym to sett tayles and oþer imposicions vpon the commons withowt the assent of the iij estates.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II ii. i. 247 The commons hath he pild with grieuous taxes, And quite lost their hearts. View more context for this quotation
1765 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. I. i. ii. 115 The commons consist of all such men of property in the kingdom as have no seat in the house of lords.
1817 Parl. Deb. 1st Ser. 308 The commons included the whole people, not lords; and neither admitted of higher or lower orders, degraded or dignified ranks.
1970 Past & Present Aug. 7 The blame for the commotions in Lincolnshire was fastened on the commons and the clergy, and only two of the landed establishment involved had to suffer the penalties of treason.
1991 H. Heller Iron & Blood vi. 130 In the sixteenth century the commons and especially the peasants and the rural bourgeois saw their enemy to be the urban oligarchies, as well as the nobility.
b. Usually with capital initial. The House of Commons, or lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (formerly England); the members of this; = House of Commons at Phrases 5a.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > governing or legislative body of a nation or community > English or British parliament > [noun] > House of Commons
commons?1433
commonalty1450
Nether House1536
House of Commons1604
grand (or great) inquest of the nation1691
the best club in London1864
?1433 W. Dallyng Petition to Parl. in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 508 Plesit to the righte sage and wyse communes of this present Parlement.
c1450 ( Crowned King l. 35 in W. W. Skeat Langland's Piers Plowman (1873) 525 Me thought y herd a crowned kyng of his comunes axe A soleyn subsidie to susteyne his werres.
1548 Order of Communion sig. A.ij For so much as in oure hyghe Courte of Parliament, lately holden at Westmynster..wyth the consent of the Lordes spirituall & temporall, and Commons there assembled.
1675 T. Turner Case Bankers & Creditors (ed. 2) 39 The Commons of that Age would not agree thereto [sc. to a subsidy]..till they had conferd with the Counties and Boroughs.
1707 Vulpone 24 The Danger that may arise to our Constitution from the 45 Scotch Commons.
1833 H. Coleridge Biographia Borealis 26 The Lords endeavouring to insert a clause..which clause the Commons of course rejected.
1970 Guardian 7 Apr. 18/1 Midnight cries of scorn and indignation rang round the Commons, which was celebrating its return to work with a row over the Ports Bill.
2014 Daily Tel. 21 Mar. 6/5 Mr Webb yesterday told the Commons that the plans to make it easier for people to cash in their pension savings..would finally ‘treat people as adults’.
c. With capital initial. The House of Commons of Canada; = House of Commons at Phrases 5b.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > governing or legislative body of a nation or community > other national governing or legislative bodies > [noun] > in Canada
commons1867
Red Chamber1892
national assembly1968
1867 N.Y. Times 12 Aug. 1/6 It would be a pity if he should fail to obtain a seat in the Commons.
1971 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 28 Jan. 1/4 Speaking in the Commons on the omnibus government organization bill that..would create a new department of the environment, Davis laid down a policy of ‘ecology ahead of economics’.
2004 R. B. Splane G. Davidson ix. 124 When Paul Martin brought it [sc. the legislation] to the Commons in June, he recognized the truth of John Diefenbaker's criticism.
II. Common provisions or resources.† 8. A toilet, a privy; = common house n. 3b. Obsolete. rare.
5.
a. Esp. with reference to a college or a religious community: provisions, esp. of food, provided for or shared by a community or group; the share due to each person in such a group; (formerly also) the cost of this. Cf. earlier common n.1 2a. Now chiefly historical and rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > supply of food or provisions > [noun] > in monastery or college
commonc1325
commonsc1390
c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. v. l. 38 Leste þe kyng and his Counseil ȝor Comunes apeire, And beo stiward in oure stude til ȝe be stouwet betere.
1520 R. Whittington Uulgaria sig. D.v Whan I was scholer of oxforthe I lyued competently with .vij. pens commens wekely.
1570 Order for Swans in W. Hone Every-day Bk. (1827) II. 961 The Commons (that is to say) Dinner and Supper, shall not exceed above twelve pence.
1691 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses I. 157 He had a Chamber, and took his commons in Hart hall.
1725 N. Bailey tr. Erasmus All Familiar Colloquies 68 I will entertain you with Scholars Commons, if not with slenderer Fare.
1849 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis (1850) I. xviii. 168 Then they went to hall, where Pen sate down and ate his commons with his brother freshmen.
1900 Cambr. Univ. Cal. 5 Pensioners, who form the great body of the Students, who pay for their commons, chambers, &c.
1992 Emmanuel Coll. Mag. 1990–91 34 All received a daily supply of commons (milk, bread and butter).
b. With singular agreement. A dining hall or room in which meals are provided, esp. in a college. Cf. Doctors' Commons n. Now chiefly U.S.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > place of education > educational buildings > [noun] > college or university buildings > dining room
commons1572
hall1577
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > room > room by type of use > [noun] > dining room > refectory
fraterc1290
refectoryc1451
refrectore?a1475
frater-house1546
fratrya1552
commons1572
hall1577
refectuary1611
refectoire1667
1572 T. Wilson Disc. Vsurye f. 16 You came not to dynner, you shoulde haue beene welcome, but you doctors of the commons are wedded to small fare.
1598 J. Stow Suruay of London 300 On the West side.., is one other great house.., which..was..letten..of later time to a Colledge in Cambridge, and from them to the Doctors of the Ciuill Law and Arches, who kept a commons there.
a1641 R. Montagu Acts & Monuments (1642) 539 The Priests attending..had a Colledge, Society, a Commons, Lodging and Mansions during their service within the Temple.
1688 S. Penton Guardian's Instr. 80 He invited us the next day to a Commons.
1828 J. Fenimore Cooper Notions of Americans 415 We dined in the commons of the latter with one of the tutors.
1929 T. Wolfe Look homeward, Angel xxix. 349 The food..was very cheap: at the college commons, twelve dollars a month.
2015 @MaiahAkkerman 12 Feb. in twitter.com (accessed 26 Nov. 2020) The commons at college is more segregated than my highschool cafeteria ever was.
c. With singular agreement. At Oxford University: a portion of food supplied by a college kitchen at a set price. Cf. sense 5b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > supply of food or provisions > rations > [noun] > in college
size1555
sizing1596
cue1603
commons1685
1685 S. Wesley Maggots 91 When at last the whole Hogs-head of Porridge is o're, And Colon still swears and grumbles for more, Sometimes you've a Commons, and sometimes you've none.
1815 in T. Fowler Hist. Corpus Christi Coll. (1893) 309 The three first tables have joints; but we have what are called commons; that is allowances cut in slices.—I inquire what there is for dinner, and desire them to send in half a commons of what I choose.
1884 C. Power in Gentleman's Mag. Feb. 114 Berkeley lunched by himself upon a solitary commons of cold beef.
1997 Pembroke College Record 1995–6 57/1 Undergraduates would come into the JCR [= Junior Common Room] and order a commons of toast.
6. More generally: daily allowance of food or provisions; rations. Frequently (and now only) in short commons n. insufficient or limited food; restricted rations.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > supply of food or provisions > rations > [noun]
liverisona1325
ordinary1481
allowance1526
diet1533
commons1541
common1638
ration1687
dietary1838
the world > food and drink > food > supply of food or provisions > rations > [noun] > scanty or insufficient
pittance?c1225
short commons1541
six upon four1829
1541 T. Elyot Image of Gouernance v. f. 10 Gyuynge to poore..chyldren..theyr commons fre.
1579 S. Gosson Schoole of Abuse f. 14 Wee shall haue a harde pyttaunce, and come to shorte commons.
1697 W. Dampier New Voy. around World x. 282 Captain Swan..gave way to a small enlargement of our commons,..[to] 10 spoonfuls of boil'd Maiz a man.
1712 J. Arbuthnot John Bull Still in Senses ii. 10 Now and then she would seize upon John's Commons, snatch a Leg of a Pullet, [etc.].
1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. II. ii. 37 Our sick have been on short commons for the last five days.
1935 G. Blake Shipbuilders (1986) xi. 348 He recovered the joys of cookery, proudly producing delight out of the short commons on which they had to live.
2010 Economist 2 Oct. 94/1 The daughters of those rotifers which had been fed as much as they could eat lived for 9.5 days if treated likewise..and 14.4 if put on short commons.
7.
a. With the (with singular or plural agreement). A piece of open land available to a community and allowing traditional rights such as grazing livestock, collecting wood or turf for fuel, fishing, etc. Later also: a piece of open public land or parkland. Cf. common n.1 3a.Cf. note at common n.1 3a. Now sometimes used colloquially to denote a particular piece of common land or parkland officially called a common.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > tract > [noun] > common or unenclosed
common1377
moor1386
common land1470
champestrea1492
common field1523
champaign1555
commons1583
champian1611
commonity1612
public domain1627
commonage1635
commoninga1661
range1707–8
open1733
common area1837
mark1849
veld1852
outdoors1859
wide (also great, vast) open spaces1910
the world > food and drink > farming > farm > farmland > [noun] > common or unenclosed land
lea805
leasea1000
green1190
common1377
tye1407
common field1523
champaign1555
commons1583
champian1611
commonage1635
commoninga1661
open1733
open field1762
mark1849
veld1852
scat-field1881
stray1889
1583 P. Stubbes Second Pt. Anat. Abuses sig. E2v When the poore man might turne out a cow, or two..to the commons.
1606 W. Attersoll Badges of Christianity ii. vi. 155 All haue not interest to the pasture, herbage, and priuiledges of a Commons, but onely such as are tenantes according to the custome of the mannor.
1798 H. Wood Coll. Decrees Court Exchequer in Tithe-causes I. 211 The sheep and cattle going on the commons of the said farm.
1877 Defiance (Ohio) Democrat 26 Apr. 5/4 A number of children were playing on the commons near the Catholic church.
1978 Sun (Lowell, Mass.) 17 Aug. 21/1 A Walk-a-Thon for Equal Rights from the Boston Commons to the Cambridge Commons..is planned.
2017 @ClintonDevon 25 July in twitter.com (accessed 8 Apr. 2021) Join East Devon Ramblers for an evening walk on the commons.
b. With singular or plural agreement. A resource (including land) that is not privately owned and is available for use by a community or the wider public. Now frequently used with reference to natural global resources, such as the atmosphere, space, wilderness areas, fish in the oceans, etc. Cf. tragedy of the commons at Phrases 7.
ΚΠ
1968 G. Hardin in Science 13 Dec. 1244/3 Each pursuing his own best interest in a society that believes in the freedom of the commons. Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all.
1993 C. Stone in P. Sands Greening Internat. Law iii. 39 The commons are available for purposes of wealth exploitation—anyone can sweep it for fish or scoop up deep seabed minerals without answering to the world community.
1997 Forbes (Nexis) 20 Oct. 42 If the Internet continues to be a commons congested by every graphics-dumping data hound, even new fiber-optic connections..may not be enough.
2008 M. A. Majumder et al. in B. A. Lustig et al. Altering Nature I. iv. 264 We can be hopeful that the evidence of the depletion of the commons is at last becoming a catalyst for political action.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > sanitation > privy or latrine > [noun]
gongOE
privy?c1225
room-housec1275
chamber foreignc1300
wardrobea1325
privy chamberc1325
foreignc1390
siegec1400
stool1410
jakes1432
house of easementa1438
kocayc1440
siege-hole1440
siege-house1440
privy house1463
withdraught1493
draught1530
shield1535
bench-hole1542
common house1542
stool1542
jakes house1547
boggard1552
house of office?1560
purging place1577
little house1579
issue1588
Ajax1596
draught-house1597
private1600
necessary house1612
vault1617
longhouse1622
latrine1623
necessary1633
commonsa1641
gingerbread officea1643
boghouse1644
cloaca1645
passage-house1646
retreat1653
shithouse1659
closet of ease1662
garderobe1680
backside1704
office1727
bog?1731
house of ease1734
cuz-john1735
easing-chair1771
backhouse1800
outhouse1819
netty1825
petty1848
seat of ease1850
closet1869
bathroom1883
crapper1927
lat1927
shouse1941
biffy1942
shitholec1947
toot1965
shitter1967
woodshed1974
a1641 T. Heywood Captives (1953) iv. iii. 95 Heares a place, though neather of the secretest nor the best, to vnlade my selff off this Iniquity [sc. a dead body]... Hee's nwe where hee' is in Commons.
Phrases
P1. in commons: in lodgings or residential quarters, having access to shared meals or food provisions; in a college hall of residence. In early use also more generally: in close association with someone or something (obsolete). Now chiefly U.S.
ΚΠ
c1503 tr. Charter of London in R. Arnold Chron. f. xxxiv/2 That noo maner persone beyng free of this Citee take receyue and kepe from hensforth ony priest in comons or to borde by the day weke Moneth or yere or ony other terme.
?1542 H. Brinkelow Complaynt Roderyck Mors xii. sig. C7 For such as be poore prisoners, and for the helth of their body desyer to be in comons, and to haue a bed, he shal pay .iiij. tymes more for it there [sc. in prison], than in the derest Inn in Ingland.
1587 J. Bridges Def. Govt. Church of Eng. x. 826 If there bee no neede of such Elders to ioyne in commons with him in his gouernment.
1654 R. Whitlock Ζωοτομία 453 To heare of him under Sequestration, and his Family in Commons with the Ravens.
1666 W. Dugdale Origines Juridiciales 148/2 It was ordered..that if any fellow in Commons, or lying in the House, did wear either Hat, or Cloak in the Temple Church, Hall, Buttry, Kitchin, or at the Buttry-Barr, Dresser, or in the Garden, he should forfait for every such offence vis. viiid.
1750 New Present State Eng. I. ix. 356 Living in Commons together in a collegiate Manner.
1871 Old & New (Boston) 4 21/2 We then lived in commons; the five classes assembling daily for the three meals in the Commons Hall.
1990 D. Lemmings Gentlemen & Barristers ii. 34 Those in commons were not necessarily present at meals in hall every day.
2018 @sung_minkim 28 May in twitter.com (accessed 30 Nov. 2020) Living in commons is overrated. can't throw a party without getting busted, can hear all the noise from other rooms, the rooms didn't have enough space, etc.
P2. to put (also turn, etc.) (a person) out of commons and variants: to exclude (esp. a member of a college) from lodgings or residential quarters; to exclude (a person) from shared meals or food provisions in such lodgings. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > lack of social communication or relations > exclusion from society > exclude from society [verb (transitive)] > exclude from common table
to put (a person) out of commons1573
excommon1671
1573 G. Harvey Let.-bk. (1884) 42 Our Master chargid him to be packing and willid M. Tyndall to put him out of Commins.
1609 T. Dekker Ravens Almanacke (STC 6519.2) sig. A3v Littleton..shall in Michaelmas Tearme next, be not onely thrust out of Commons, but being found lying poorely..vpon a Stall, shall not be worth sixe pence.
1691 Case of Exeter-Coll. 32 Such absent Scholar shall be turn'd out of Commons for fifteen days.
1707 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. 2 Dec. (1886) II. 77 Mr. Gwinnett is put out of commons.
1893 T. Fowler Hist. Corpus Christi Coll. 54 The offenders, moreover, were compelled to write their names in a register..stating their offence and the number of days for which they were put out of commons.
2000 Irish Hist. Stud. 32 169 Bermingham seems still to have been there in 1486, when he was put out of commons for various offences.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > association, fellowship, or companionship > associate together or with [verb (intransitive)]
mingc1275
company1387
joinc1390
meddlec1390
herd?a1400
fellowshipc1430
enfellowship1470
to step in1474
accompany?1490
yoke?a1513
to keep with ——c1515
conjoin1532
wag1550
frequent1577
encroach1579
consort1588
sort1595
commerce1596
troop1597
converse1598
to keep (also enter, come into, etc.) commons1598
to enter common1604
atone1611
to walk (also travel) in the way with1611
minglea1616
consociate1638
associate1644
corrive1647
co-unite1650
walk1650
cohere1651
engage1657
mix1667
accustom1670
to make one1711
coalite1735
commerciate1740
to have nothing to say to (also with)1780
gang?1791
companion1792
mess1795
matea1832
comrade1865
to go around1904
to throw in with1906
to get down1975
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > eating in specific conditions > eat in specific conditions [verb (intransitive)] > eat in company
dieta1587
common1598
to keep (also enter, come into, etc.) commons1598
mess1701
partake1844
1598 R. Barret Theorike & Pract. Mod. Warres Pref. 5 Yong Gentlemen, which haue not entred commons in Mars his Campe.
1614 T. Adams Diuells Banket iv. 182 If you know that Gods cheare is so infinitely better; why doe you enter commons at Satans Feast?
c1616 ( in T. Stapleton Plumpton Corr. (1839) p. cxviii The foresaid Sir Robert Plompton come into comens with Oliver Dickinson his servant the 25 July unto super againe.
1705 London Gaz. No. 4132/3 Every Attorney and Clerk shall duly keep Commons in such Society of which they are admitted.
1870 Jrnl. Statist. & Social Inq. Soc. Ireland 6 142 Annexed to this educational probation is the condition of keeping nine Terms' Commons in the Dining Hall of the Society of King's Inns.
2019 Educ. Rules Honorable Society King’s Inns (Dublin) May 20 in www.kingsinns.ie (accessed 14 Aug. 2020) Every such applicant shall..(7) keep commons, unless excused from doing so by special permission of the benchers of the Society.
P4. Scottish. to quit commons: to repay a debt; to settle accounts with someone. Cf. to quit a common at common n.1 Phrases 2. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
a1600 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 280 Thinkand that it was tyme to quitt commoneis.
1637 S. Rutherford Let. 7 July (1863) ccxiv. 336 I desire..to proclaim myself..in his common, and eternally indebted to his kindness. I will not offer to quit commons with him (as we used to say,) for that will not be.
P5. House of Commons.
a. The lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (formerly of England), composed of formally elected members; the members of this house collectively.The House of Commons and the House of Lords are the Houses of Parliament; these, along with the monarch, form the legislature of the United Kingdom. See House of Lords, houses of parliament n.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > governing or legislative body of a nation or community > English or British parliament > [noun] > House of Commons
commons?1433
commonalty1450
Nether House1536
House of Commons1604
grand (or great) inquest of the nation1691
the best club in London1864
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > governing or legislative body of a nation or community > English or British parliament > [noun] > place of > occupied by lower house
common house1449
House of Commons1604
1604 Copie of His Maiesties Let. 26 June 4 Yee shall in our name signifie to our said House of Commons, that we desire them at this time not to meddle any further with that question.
1621 King James VI & I Let. to Speaker 3 Dec. in Lett. (1984) (modernized text) 378 Some fiery and popular Spirits of the House of Commons.
1726 J. Swift Gulliver I. ii. vi. 110 An Assembly called the House of Commons..to represent the Wisdom of the whole Nation.
1884 W. E. Gladstone in Standard 29 Feb. 2/6 Rather by the spontaneous action of the House of Commons.
2017 M. McCabe Two Closes & Referendum Epil. 367 The Speaker reprimands them, pointing out that the acceptable expression of approval in the House of Commons is to bellow ‘Heah Heah!’
b. The lower house of parliament of Canada, composed of formally elected members; the members of this house collectively.Established by the Constitution Act of 1867, the House of Commons and the Senate are the Houses of Parliament; these, along with the Governor General, form the legislature of Canada.
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1867 Daily Brit. Whig (Kingston, Canada) 4 Mar. Mr Henry Prince..has been invited to become a candidate for the representation of the new County of Bothwell in the Canadian House of Commons.
2009 B. Plamondon Blue Thunder xxxi. 440 The government enacted legislation to set a fixed election date, provided the government was not defeated in a vote of confidence in the House of Commons.
P6. Commons House of Assembly: the lower house of elected representatives in the parliaments of some British colonies in North America. Now historical.
ΚΠ
1705 E. Blake Let. in D. Defoe Party–Tyranny 21 There has nothing of this been weigh'd by your Lordships Deputies here, or by the pack'd Members of our Commons House of Assembly.
1819 Herald (Kingston, Upper Canada) 18 May In pursuance of an address of the commons house of assembly..the sum of six hundred and ninety three pounds seven shillings and sevens pence, has been issued and advanced by your majesty.
2016 S. Carolina Hist. Mag. Apr. 122 During this nine-month period, he engaged in a series of conflicts and negotiations with the South Carolina Commons House of Assembly.
P7. tragedy of the commons: the depletion or degradation of a finite shared resource by individuals according to their interest, contrary to the long-term interests of the whole community; an instance of this.Coined by G. Hardin (see quot. 1968, which is an article based on a presidential address he presented at Utah State University in June of that year).
ΚΠ
1968 Science 13 Dec. 1245/2 The air and waters surrounding us cannot readily be fenced, and so the tragedy of the commons as a cesspool must be prevented.
1992 Orange County (Calif.) Reg. 13 Dec. h3/1 What has not been widely noticed is that a tragedy of the commons exists..in our national treasury... The treasury stands to be dipped into by all citizens in a democratic society.
2007 N.Y. Mag. 12 Nov. 45/2 [He]..likens this impulse to overschedule to the ‘tragedy of the commons’ paradox: In a public area where everyone is allowed to graze his cow, overgrazing kills the grass. Everyone loses.
Compounds
Commons House n. (a) the House of Commons of the United Kingdom (formerly of England) (see House of Commons at Phrases 5a); (b) the House of Commons of Canada (see House of Commons at Phrases 5b).
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1641 in E. Nicholas Papers (1886) I. 36 Too morrow ye Commons House intend..to adjourne also till Monday.
1820 Examiner No. 633. 348/2 Is there not a man now in the Commons House, who was found guilty of a public fraud?
1887 Ann. Reg. 1886 479 The Commons House of Canada does not deem it expedient to again address Her Majesty on the subject.
2017 CTV News (transcript of TV programme) (Nexis) 20 Sept. Not that I want to throw stones in the Commons House, but you know, remember the future prime minister, Justin Trudeau did yell across the aisle that a certain cabinet minister was a piece of...
2020 @Glasgowegian 16 May in twitter.com (accessed 14 Aug. 2020) Why doesn't he stop his far too narrow out of the box thinking and go outside the Commons House for his thinking?
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2021; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.a1382- pyriform muscle
- pyriform sinus
- pyriform-bulbous
- pyriform-conical
- pyriform-ovoid
- pyriform-triangular
- pyriformbulbous
- pyriformconical
- pyriformed
- pyriformis
- pyriformis muscle
- pyriformovoid
- pyriformtriangular
- pyrimethamine
- pyrimethamines
- pyrimidine
- pyrimidine base
- pyrimidine derivative
- pyrimidine ring
- pyrimidines
- pyritaceous
- pyrite
- pyrite stone
- pyrites
- pyritic