pertaining to a common name; serving as a distinctive denomination; denominative; naming.-common, as opposed to proper; denominative of a class.-a common name, in distinction from a proper name. a common name, or appellative, stands for a whole class, genus, or species of beings, or for universal ideas. thus, tree is the name of all plants of a particular class; plant and vegetable are names of things that grow out of the earth. a proper name, on the other hand, stands for a single thing; as, rome, washington, lake erie.-an appellation or title; a descriptive name.