commonplace

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A calque of Latin locus commūnis, referring to a generally applicable literary passage, itself a calque of Ancient Greek κοινὸς τόπος (koinòs tópos).

Ordinary; not having any remarkable characteristics. "This Mr. Tyrrel," she said, in a tone of authoritative decision, "seems after all a very ordinary sort of person, quite a commonplace man."

countable, uncountable A platitude or cliché. Finally he began to mutter some commonplaces which meant nothing particularly.
countable, uncountable Something that is ordinary; something commonly done or occurring. It is odd how easily the common-places of morality or of sentiment glide off in conversation. Well, they are "exceedingly helpful," and so Lord Avonleigh found them.
countable, uncountable A memorandum; something to be frequently consulted or referred to. Whatever, in my reading, occurs concerning this our fellow creature, I do never fail to set it down by way of common-place.
countable, uncountable A commonplace book.

transitive To make a commonplace book.
transitive To enter in a commonplace book, or to reduce to general heads. I do not apprehend any difficulty in collecting and commonplacing an universal history from the […]historians.
intransitive, obsolete To utter commonplaces; to indulge in platitudes. And something angered Tamara in the way the Prince assisted in all this, out-commonplacing her friend in commonplaces with the suavest politeness.