locus communisn.
/ˌləʊkəs kəˈmjuːnɪs/, /ˌlɒkəs kəˈmjuːnɪs/, U.S. /ˌloʊkəs kəˈmjunəs/ A commonplace (in various senses of the noun). Frequently in classical contexts.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical syllogism > logical argument > [noun] > basis of argument
locus communis1531
society > leisure > the arts > literature > a written composition > parts of a written composition > [noun] > passage > used as basis for argument
commonplace?1531
locus communis1531
1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour i. xiv. sig. Hi Hauyng almoste all the places, wherof they shall fetche their raisons, called of Oratours loci communes, which I omitte to name.
a1691 Bp. T. Barlow Αὐτοσχεδιάσματα (1699) 13 Conrad. Vorstius, on all the Epistles, (excepting that to the Hebrews) who has, first, the Analysis, 2. the Paraphrasis..4. The Loci Communes of every Chapter.
1783 H. Blair Lect. Rhetoric II. xxxii. 180 The ancient Rhetoricians..professed..to teach them [sc. public speakers] where to find arguments on every subject and cause. Hence their Doctrine of Topics, or ‘Loci Communes,’ and ‘Sedes Argumentorum’.
1843 J. S. Mill Syst. Logic II. v. ii. 339 Loci communes of bad arguments on some particular subject.
1854 Brownson's Q. Rev. Apr. 244 Charles Albert..expressed an idea which has been a locus communis for demagogues these fifteen hundred..years.
1913 Classical Rev. 27 199/1 To praise Athens for piety was a locus communis.
1966 Times Lit. Suppl. 15 Dec. 1168/4 Pliny..can no more avoid a locus communis than a dog can avoid a lamppost.
2004 Times Lit. Suppl. 16 Apr. 7/3 Seventeenth-century societies..met to discuss loci communes from given authors.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1531