common land
1
3.5
- noun
- UK
:
tierra común
- Farmers in the area still bring their cattle to graze on the common land after the harvest.
Examples
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And while they inherited through their father's lines, they also inherited access to common lands from their mother.
Academic text (2006) -
One need only see the consequences of overfishing common waters or overgrazing common lands.
Academic text (2002) -
This farm was home to several families, each of which had been allotted a certain portion of the common land.
Academic text (2007) -
In the past, people related genealogically were also linked by their common land holdings.
Academic text (1991) -
"What we're getting here in the amount of green space and common land for the public to use for generations is outstanding," Scrima said.
Blog text (21) -
If I put my sheep onto that common land, it doesn't do any lasting damage.
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They were protesting against enhanced rents and against the abuses of common land by their landlords.
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We emphasize that food for transhumant livestock is inexpensive, for in both summer and winter the sheep graze mainly on common lands.
Academic text (2011) -
A curious aspect of this chapter is the account of the creation of common land that all could use during the duration of the Alpingi as a place to gather firewood and graze their horses.
Academic text (1997) -
For example: If two cattle farmers share a common plot of land between them, and neither can exclude the other from grazing their cattle on it, both farmers have a natural incentive to graze their cows as much as possible on the common land, thereby destroying it quickly, rather than conserving it for future use.
Blog text (11)
Synonyms
56
3.2
An open grassy area near houses where people meet or play
7
3.2
Shared open land in a community like a park or pasture
Land that a local community owns and that people share
Antonyms
68
2.8
Things you can move, like cars or jewelry, that belong to one person, not land
How Public
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'land open to use by the public' is directly derivable from combining 'common' (shared, belonging to the community) with 'land' (an area of earth). This compositional, adjectival+noun pattern is cross-linguistically familiar and follows ordinary English word-building, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Common land comes from village life where a piece of land was common to everyone, so people could bring animals to graze on it. That's why today common land means 'land open for public or community use'.