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View synonyms for common noun

common noun

noun

, Grammar.
  1. a noun that may be preceded by an article or other limiting modifier and that denotes any or all of a class of entities and not an individual, as man, city, horse, music.


common noun

noun

  1. grammar a noun that refers to each member of a whole class sharing the features connoted by the noun, as for example planet, orange, and drum Compare proper noun
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Word History and Origins

Origin of common noun1

First recorded in 1860–65
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Example Sentences

The proper noun when spoken can be confused for the common noun.

The common noun was made a proper name, and a legend by degrees attached to it.

Thus "John Smith" (particular; proper noun) and "Man" (general; common noun).

A common noun is the name given to an object to denote the class to which it belongs; as, book, man.

A common noun is a name possessed by any one of a class of persons, animals, or things.

The, when placed before the pluralized abstract noun, marks it as half abstract or a common noun.

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