Gemeinsinn

German

Etymology

17th century, from gemein +‎ Sinn, a calque of Latin sensus communis. The Latin means “common sense”, but does allow the reinterpretation insofar as communis means both “common” and “communal”. The meaning appeared in German since the 18th century and had displaced the original one by the mid-19th.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡəˈmaɪ̯nˌzɪn/

Noun

Gemeinsinn m (strong, genitive Gemeinsinns or Gemeinsinnes, plural (rare) Gemeinsinne)

1. public spirit (sense of responsibility for society and its betterment)
2. (obsolete) common sense

   Synonym: gesunder Menschenverstand

Declension

Declension of Gemeinsinn [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Gemeinsinn	die	Gemeinsinne
genitive	eines	des	Gemeinsinns, Gemeinsinnes	der	Gemeinsinne
dative	einem	dem	Gemeinsinn, Gemeinsinne1	den	Gemeinsinnen
accusative	einen	den	Gemeinsinn	die	Gemeinsinne

¹Now rare, see notes.