common name
A "common name" is a widely recognized term used to refer to organisms, substances, or categories in everyday language, contrasting with scientific or technical names.
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Definition
B2Biology
(general)A name used by the general public to identify a species, as opposed to its scientific name.
Example
- "Cat" is the common name for Felis catus.
C1Chemistry
(technical)A name that identifies a substance but is not the systematic IUPAC name.
Example
- "Baking soda" is the common name for sodium bicarbonate.
C1Linguistics
(technical)A noun or phrase that refers to a general category of things, not a specific, unique entity.
Example
- "Tree" is a common name, whereas "General Sherman" is a proper noun.
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "common name":
vernacular nametrivial namegeneric nametrade namestreet namesystematic namespecies namegood namenew namegiven namefull namesecond namepet namelegal namefamily namecoined namehousehold namenomen appellativumbad name