commonly
- 1As a general rule; in most instances; happening or done frequently.
Headaches are commonly caused by stress or lack of sleep.
Customers commonly ask for a refund within the first week of purchase.
Similarusually, often, frequently, generally, typically
Oppositerarely, seldom, infrequently
Note
Middle English comunly, simply common plus -ly, and today the word does much of its work just before a past participle: commonly caused, commonly associated. The superlative most commonly singles out the usual case among several, as in the class of antidepressants most commonly associated with sexual dysfunction. That pattern, rather than commonly standing alone, is the natural way to use it.
- 2In a jointly held or shared manner; also, in a familiar or intimate fashion.
The brothers held their inheritance commonly, neither claiming a separate share.
As he thereon stood gazing, he might see / The blessed Angels to and fro descend / From highest heaven in gladsome companee, / And with great joy into that Citie wend, / As commonly as friend does with his frend.
1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie QueeneNote
A meaning that is easy to misread today. When the angels in Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene (1590) descend to the city "as commonly as friend does with his frend," they come familiarly, as companions do, not often. The sense is obsolete, so a modern reader will hear the "usually" meaning instead. In current prose, write in common, jointly or familiarly.
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Origin
Inherited from Middle English comunly, equivalent to common combined with the suffix -ly.