commonality
(kɒməˈnælɪtɪ)
Forms: 4 com(m)unalite, -ee, 4–7 -ie, 6– commonality.
[A by-form of commonalty, conformed (in its earlier spelling) to the L. *commūnālitās.]
† 1. A community, commonwealth; = commonalty 1. Obs.
| c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. i. iv. 13 Þe gouernours of communalities. Ibid. iv. vi. 142 God..for he hym self is good..chaseþ oute al yuel of þe boundes of hys communalite. |
† b. A free or self-governing community; = commonalty 1 b. Obs.
| 1680 Morden Geog. Rect. (1685) 393 Some..have their Kings, others live by Hords or Commonalities. |
2. Common people; = commonalty 3.
(The form favoured by Scottish writers.)
| 1582 Addr. Jas. VI in Sir J. Melvil's Mem. (1735) 258 Noblemen, Barons, Burgesses and Commonality. 1628 Hobbes Thucyd. (1822) 153 The commonality are now your friends. 1650 Jer. Taylor Holy Living (1727) 158 The tears and the curse of the commonality. 1761–2 Hume Hist. Eng. (1806) IV. lxiv. 725 Three estates, the clergy, the nobility, and the commonality. 1864 Burton Scot Abr. I. i. 18 All the commonality of Scotland. 1879 Geo. Eliot Theo. Such ii. 37 Among the mixed commonality. |
† 3. A corporation; = commonalty 2. Obs.
| 1687 Lond. Gaz. No. 2288/1 The humble Address of the..Mystery and Commonality of Barbers and Surgeons. |
† 4. Possession in common, community. Obs.
| 1540 R. Hyrde tr. Vives' Instr. Chr. Wom. (1592) X iij, The women could not awaye with that comminalitie of goods. |
† 5. = commonalty 5. Obs.
| 1715 M. Davies Ath. Brit. i. Pref. 67 Not possible to be Read by the Commonality of Christians. Ibid. ii. 416 The common use and understanding of the Commonality of Christians. |
6. The state or quality of being in common with, or shared by, others (cf. commonness 1 a); spec. community of function, structure, or purpose; also, a shared feature.
| 1954 M. Scheerer in G. Lindzey Handbk. Social Psychol. I. 101/2 This poses the problems of how each phenomenal field can correspond to reality: how it can have access to other persons' private worlds, and how commonality with others is possible. 1966 Psychol. Rep. XIX. 357 (heading) Effect on commonality of word-associations of instruction to give popular responses. 1970 Sci. Jrnl. July 32/2 ‘Commonality’—the use of each vehicle for several different purposes, thus holding to a minimum the number of new vehicles to be developed. 1971 Jrnl. Gen. Psychol. Apr. 288 Commonality can be increased when subjects are asked to predict common normative responses. 1972 Rep. Broader Educ. for Graduates (S.R.C./S.S.R.C. Comm.) 5 We were unable to establish a commonality of views with the University departments who were interested in broadening the PhD course. 1976 Daily Tel. 30 Mar. 6/8 Integration with Chrysler's European operations would be pressed ahead much harder and faster, to secure economies. The policy would be to achieve ‘commonality’ of products on a world wide basis wherever possible. 1977 Dædalus Fall p. vii, One would therefore expect that the commonalities of the sciences, in particular their shared philosophical underpinnings, would now be more evident than ever. 1985 M. Gordon Men & Angels viii. 121 If he thought her attractive, and he thought them attractive, there had to be some commonality. |