Commonalty

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈkɒmənəlti/

Definitions

1. The ordinary or common people of a community, especially those without noble rank or special status
2. A collective group of individuals in a society who share common traits and typically do not hold noble titles or exceptional status
3. A social group consisting of individuals who share common characteristics and generally lack aristocratic privileges or distinctions

Etymology: The "commonalty" that once meant the whole body of ordinary people had a grander sense than it does now: in medieval England it was the term for everyone beneath the nobility, the common folk taken together as a single body. The word reached English in Middle English as "comunalte" and "communalte," borrowed from Old French "comunalté" and "comunauté," the French form of the same word that gave modern French "communauté." Its ancestry runs back to Latin "commūnitās," meaning community or the quality of being shared in common. The French forms probably came from an alteration of "communité," a form that had already been shaped by the Latin "commūnitās," so the English word is a close relative of "community" rather than a direct cousin of "commonality." Some of its later senses did come under the influence of "commonality," which is why the word now sounds like a plainer, more everyday cousin of "community."

Synonyms: commonality, sharedness, community, collectiveness, sociability

Antonyms: individuality, uniqueness, singularity, solitude, isolation