vulgare

Vulgare is a Latin adjective meaning common or ordinary. It is the neuter singular form of the adjective vulgaris, whose masculine and feminine form is vulgaris. In Latin, adjectives agree with the gender and number of the nouns they modify, so vulgare is used with neuter nouns.

The word derives from Latin vulgus, meaning the crowd or the common people, and is related to the development of the English word vulgar. In classical and scientific Latin, vulgare and vulgaris express the sense of being widespread, typical, or widely known, rather than carrying any modern moral or pejorative nuance.

In taxonomy and broader scholarly usage, vulgare is encountered as an epithet in scientific names to indicate that a species is common or widespread. The more widely seen form in many species names is vulgaris, used with masculine or feminine generic nouns; vulgare appears when the associated noun is neuter. The distinction is a matter of Latin grammar rather than a substantive difference in meaning.

Vulgare also appears in discussions of Latin grammar and in historical texts as part of phrases describing common or popular usage. The term is closely related to Vulgar Latin, the form of Latin spoken by common people that evolved into the Romance languages.

See also:

- Vulgar Latin

- Vulgaris (Latin adjective)

- Language and taxonomy in Latin nomenclature