uncommon

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *né

Proto-Indo-European *n̥-

Proto-Germanic *un-

Proto-West Germanic *un-

Old English un-

Middle English un-

English un-

Proto-Indo-European *mey-

Proto-Indo-European *ḱom-moy-ni-s

Proto-Italic *kommoinis

Old Latin comoinis

Latin commūnis

Anglo-Norman comunbor.

Middle English comun

English common

English uncommon

From un- + common.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʌnˈkɒmən/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒmən
• Hyphenation: un‧com‧mon

Adjective

uncommon (comparative more uncommon or uncommoner, superlative most uncommon or uncommonest)

1. Rare; not readily found; unusual. (clarification of this definition is needed (uncommon > rare > very uncommon))

   Bald eagles are an uncommon sighting in this state.

   • 1946 January and February, “The Why and The Wherefore: The Forth Bridge”, in Railway Magazine, page 59:

     This is not an uncommon practice.

   • 2014 February 5, “Ramp Meters: Unappreciated or just misunderstood?”, in Arizona Department of Transportation‎^[1], archived from the original on 25 June 2022:

     There’s no delicate way to put this, so we’re just going to come right out and say it – we feel that ramp meters are underappreciated. […] Yet, it’s not uncommon to see drivers totally ignore a ramp meter and drive right through its red light.

2. Remarkable; exceptional.

   The diamond was of uncommon size

Synonyms

• (rare): infrequent, raresome, scarce; see also Thesaurus:rare

Translations

rare; not readily found; unusual — see also rare,‎ infrequent,‎ noncommon

• Bulgarian: необикновен (bg) (neobiknoven)
• Dutch: zeldzaam (nl)
• Esperanto: nekomuna
• Finnish: harvinainen (fi), epätavallinen (fi)
• German: ungebräuchlich (de)
• Irish: éagsúlach
• Japanese: 珍しい (ja) (mezurashii)
• Māori: haraki, waraki
• Old English: unġewunelīċ
• Polish: niezwykły (pl) m
• Portuguese: incomum (pt)
• Romanian: rar (ro), necomun
• Russian: необы́чный (ru) (neobýčnyj)
• Spanish: poco común, nada común, extraño (es), insólito (es), incomún
• Swedish: rar (sv) (archaic), sällsynt (sv), ovanlig (sv)
• Welsh: anghyffredin (cy)

remarkable; exceptional — see also exceptional,‎ extraordinary

• Bulgarian: особен (bg) (osoben), изключителен (bg) (izključitelen)
• Dutch: uitzonderlijk (nl), exceptioneel (nl)
• Finnish: poikkeuksellinen (fi)
• German: ungewöhnlich (de)
• Japanese: 非凡な (ja) (hibon na), 特異な (ja) (tokui na)
• Portuguese: incomum (pt), excepcional (pt)
• Spanish: insólito (es)
• Swedish: remarkabel (sv), exceptionell (sv)

Adverb

uncommon (not comparable)

1. (archaic, UK, dialect) Exceedingly, exceptionally.
   • 1849 May – 1850 November, Charles Dickens, The Personal History of David Copperfield, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLC:

     ‘Is Suffolk your county, sir?’ asked William.
     ‘Yes,’ I said, with some importance. ‘Suffolk’s my county.’
     ‘I’m told the dumplings is uncommon fine down there,’ said William.

   • 1861, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter XI, in Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC:

     'The Squire's pretty springe, considering his weight,' said Mr Macey, 'and he stamps uncommon well.'

Related terms

• uncommonly
• uncommonness