common noun: Meaning and Definition of

com'mon noun'

Pronunciation: [key]
— Gram. Gram.
  1. a noun that may be preceded by an article or other limiting modifier and that denotes any or all of a class of entities and not an individual, as man, city, horse, music.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.