COMMON NOUN

views updated Jun 27 2018

COMMON NOUN. A NOUN referring to anything or anybody as an example of what the word in question denotes (an actor, the town, cheerfulness), in contrast with a PROPER noun, which uniquely identifies and NAMES, and begins with a capital letter (London, China). Grammatically, common nouns can be divided into countable and uncountable nouns. Semantically, common nouns can be classified as abstract and concrete nouns.

common noun

views updated May 17 2018

com·mon noun • n. Gram. a noun denoting a class of objects or a concept as opposed to a particular individual. Often contrasted with proper noun.

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