Noun

The word noun has come from a Latin word which means name, and that word is formed from another Latin word which means to know. A noun, then, is a name; or it is that by which a thing is known.

Common

The word common often means frequent, or ordinary. But it has another somewhat different meaning which is explained in the following paragraph.

If two or more people use a tennis court, we say it is their common property. Common schools are schools that belong to all people alike. When two strangers get to talking, they often find that they both know some person. This person is their common acquaintance. If they talk further, they may find that they are both interested in some subjects; that is, that they have common interests. So you see that common may mean belonging to more than one; and that when the word is used in this sense, common things are shared things. We use the word in this sense in grammar.

Proper

The word proper is a form of a Latin word meaning one's own; that is, not shared. The word property is formed from the same word. Thus, in the original meaning, the word proper is opposed to common. It is not often used in this sense now except in grammar.

Exercise 165. Development

The author of this book is Leo Tolstoi. He was a famous Russian. Although he was a nobleman, he was a friend of the peasants.

Make a list of nouns in these sentences. Which ones are names of the same person?

Answer these questions with reference to each of the names of this person. Does the person share this name with others? If he does, with whom does he share it? You will see that the person does share the name author with all the other persons who write books. Each one of them is called an author. This word, then, is the common name of . all of the class of authors. You will see that the person who has all these names does not share the name Leo Tolstoi with other persons. This is his own name, his unshared or proper name.

City, Metropolis, New York, Seaport.

All of these words are names of the same thing. How many of them are common names? To what does each of these common names belong? How many are proper names? Give the reason for your decision.

The nouns author, Russian, nobleman, friend, city, and metropolis, are called common nouns. Why are they called common nouns?

The nouns Leo Tolstoi and Chicago are called proper nouns. Why are they given this name?