com·mon 1 adj
1 a: of or relating to a community at large: public
common defense
b: known to the community
a common thief
2: belonging to or shared by two or more persons or things or by all members of a group
when the insured and the beneficiary perish in a common disaster
common areas of the building
3: of or relating to common stock
common shares
common 2 n
2: the legal right of taking a profit in another's land in common with the owner or others
the common of estovers
the common of pasture
3: a piece of land subject to common use: as
a: land jointly owned and used esp. for pasture
b: a public open area in a municipality
4: a condition of shared ownership: a condition in which a right is shared with an interest held by another person
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.