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Commonality vs Similarity - What's the difference?

commonality | similarity |

As nouns the difference between commonality and similarity

is that commonality is the common people; the commonalty while similarity is closeness of appearance to something else.

commonality

English

Noun

(commonalities)
  • The common people; the commonalty
  • The joint possession of a set of attributes or characteristics.
  • *1969 , "Second life for war widows", Time , 25 Jun 1969:
  • *:Zunin sold the idea to his military superiors in the fearful jargon of his profession: "In a situation where commonality of loss of the husband is present, the group can be exceedingly supportive."
  • Such a shared attribute or characteristic
  • (telecommunication) A quality that applies to materiel or systems: (a) possessing like and interchangeable parts or characteristics enabling each to be utilized, or operated and maintained in common; (b) having interchangeable repair parts and/or components; (c) applying to consumable items interchangeably equivalent without adjustment.
  • * 2003 , , transcript of radio communication,
    • KLING: FYI I've just lost four separate temperature transducers on the left side of the vehicle, hydraulic return temperatures. (pause) Two of them on system one and one in each of systems 2 and 3.
    CAIN: Four hyd return temps?
    KLING: To the left outboard and left inboard elevons.
    CAIN: OK, is there anything common to them, DSC or MDM or anything? I mean, you're telling me you lost them all at exactly the same time?
    KLING: No, not exactly. They were within probably four or five seconds of each other.
    CAIN: OK, where are those? Where is that instrumentation located?
    KLING: All four of them are located in the aft part of the left wing, right in front of the elevons, elevon actuators. And there is no commonality .
    CAIN: No commonality .
  • *:(long pause)

    • Synonyms

    *

    References

    *(telecommunication) *(telecommunication)

    similarity

    English

    Noun

    (similarities)
  • Closeness of appearance to something else.
  • (philosophy) The relation of sharing properties.
    • Hardly is there a similarity detected between two or three facts, than men hasten to extend it to all. — Sir W. Hamilton.

    Synonyms

    * resemblance

    Related terms

    * similar

    See also

    * similitude * likeness * alikeness