English Reference
Noun

commoner

n.
C1 Advanced US /ˈkɑmənɝ/ UK /kˈɒmənɐ/ com·mon·er UK spelling commoner's, commoner's

n.a person who is not a member of the royal family or the nobility. In the past, this word was used to describe anyone who was not a king, queen, or lord.

n.a person who is not a member of the nobility or the royal family. Historically used to distinguish the general population from the aristocracy.


SIMPLE

The king walked among the commoners in the city square.

CONTEXTUAL

During the medieval period, a commoner could not enter the royal court without a special invitation from a noble.

COMPLEX

The historical novel explores the life of a commoner who, through a series of unlikely events, finds himself in the presence of the monarch.

He married Sonja, a commoner, in 1968 and welcomed two others, Mette-Marit and Ari Behn, as the spouses of his children.

The Guardian· 28 Aug 2026

He broke with tradition by marrying a commoner, Queen Sonja, and served as a unifying figure during Norway's most difficult moments.

BBC News· 28 Aug 2026

Etymology 1

From common + -er (comparative suffix).

Etymology 2

From Middle English comoner, comyner, cumuner, equivalent to common + -er.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Occasional
Updated