commons
Definitions
Land or resources belonging to or shared by a whole community
公共用地；公共资源
The ordinary people, as distinct from those of rank; commoners
平民，庶民（区别于贵族）
(the Commons) the elected lower house of the British or Canadian parliament
（the Commons）（英、加议会的）下议院
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedThe plural/collective of 'common.' It began as the shared land of a village (the commons), then named the people who used it — the ordinary folk, the commons (= commoners). In Britain that body of common people became a chamber of Parliament: the House of Commons.
Why It Means This
Three senses stacked on one timeline: first the thing shared (common land), then the people who shared it (the common people), then the institution that represents them (the House of Commons). The famous phrase 'tragedy of the commons' uses the oldest sense — a shared resource everyone overuses because no one owns it.
Common Collocations
- 1.the House of Commons下议院
- 2.the tragedy of the commons公地悲剧
- 3.the Commons下议院
Example Sentences
- 1.
The bill was debated for hours in the House of Commons.
- 2.
Overgrazing of the village commons left the soil bare.
- 3.
Economists often cite the tragedy of the commons to explain pollution.