communis

Latin · adjective

Edited by: Kierán Meinhardt
Last edited: 2024-09-23

Meanings

1. neither watery nor earthly

2. neither fertile nor barren

Literal translation

common

1. neither watery nor earthly

1.a neither watery nor earthly astrological concept, zodiac sign quality

the signs Capricorn and Aquarius

sunt etiam mediae legis communia signa, ambiguus tergo Capricornus, Aquarius undis, umida terrenis aequali foedere mixta.

‘Some signs there are betwixt and between, of a middle dispensation, since Capricorn’s nature is compromised by its tail, the Waterman’s by his stream: they are signs in which watery and earthly elements are mixed in an even compact.’

— Manilius, Astronomica 2.230 ff

Genre: astrological treatise

Manilius. Astronomica. Edited and translated by G. P. Goold. Loeb Classical Library 469. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1977. 100-101

2. neither fertile nor barren

2.a neither fertile nor barren astrological concept, zodiac sign quality

the signs Capricorn, Sagittarius, Aries, Libra, Gemini, Taurus

inter utrumque manet Capricornus corpore mixto et qui Cretaeo fulget Centaurus in arcu, communisque Aries aequantem tempora Libram et Geminos Taurumque pari sub sorte recenset.

‘Between the two groups fall Capricorn of compound form and the Centaur who glitters with his Cretan bow; also intermediate is the Ram who counts of like estate the equinoctial Scales, the Twins, and the Bull.’

— Manilius, Astronomica 2.240 ff

Genre: astrological treatise

Manilius. Astronomica. Edited and translated by G. P. Goold. Loeb Classical Library 469. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1977. 100-101

Cite this entry

APA (7th)

Meinhardt, K. (2024). communis (Lemma #2086). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2086/

Chicago (Author-Date)

Meinhardt, K. (2024). communis (Lemma #2086). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2086/

MLA (9th)

Meinhardt, K. (2024). communis (Lemma #2086). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2086/

Harvard

Meinhardt, K. (2024) communis (Lemma #2086), The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. Available at: https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2086/ (Accessed: July 4, 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{zodiac2086,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-07-04]},
	author = {Meinhardt, Kierán},
	year = {2024},
	title = {communis ({Lemma} #2086)},
	url = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2086/},
	howpublished = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/2086/},
}