common name

common name (plural common names)

1. (taxonomy) The name by which an organism or group of organisms is known to the general public.

   Synonym: vernacular name

   Hypernym: alias

   Coordinate terms: scientific name, taxonomic name

   Near-synonym: trivial name

   • 2016, James Lambert, “Ornithonymy and Lexicographical Selection Criteria”, in International Journal of Lexicography, volume 30, number 1, pages 39–62:

     From the point of view of biology, a bird has both a scientific name and a common name.

2. (chemistry) A name that unambiguously identifies a substance but is not the IUPAC systematic name.

   Coordinate terms: trivial name, vernacular name; systematic name

3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see common,‎ name.