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Refuge vs Commons - What's the difference?

refuge | commons |

As a noun refuge

is a state of safety, protection or shelter.

As a verb refuge

is to return to a place of shelter.

As a proper noun commons is

(politics) the house of commons, part of the parliament under the westminister system of parliamentary democracy.

refuge

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • A state of safety, protection or shelter.
  • * Milton
    • Rocks, dens, and caves! But I in none of these / Find place or refuge .
  • A place providing safety, protection or shelter.
  • *
    • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=4 , passage=One morning I had been driven to the precarious refuge afforded by the steps of the inn, after rejecting offers from the Celebrity to join him in a variety of amusements. But even here I was not free from interruption, for he was seated on a horse-block below me, playing with a fox terrier.}}
  • Something or someone turned to for safety or assistance; a recourse or resort.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2011, date=December 21, author=Helen Pidd, work=the Guardian
    • , title= Europeans migrate south as continent drifts deeper into crisis , passage=Since its conception, the European Union has been a haven for those seeking refuge from war, persecution and poverty in other parts of the world.}}
  • An expedient to secure protection or defence.
  • * Shakespeare
    • Their latest refuge / Was to send him.

    Synonyms

    * haven * sanctuary * zoar

    Derived terms

    * refugee * refugium

    Verb

    (refug)
  • To return to a place of shelter.
  • * 2011 , Michael D. Gumert, ?Agustín Fuentes, ?Lisa Jones-Engel, Monkeys on the Edge
    • Among these macaques, although activity cycles are quite variable from location to location, refuging is a common characteristic.
  • (obsolete) To shelter; to protect.
    • ----

    commons

    English

    Noun

    (head)
  • A dining hall, usually at a college or university.
  • A central section of (usually an older) town, designated as a shared area, a common.
    • The Renaissance festival started with the "peasants" meeting in the commons .
    The commons is the green space surrounded by the village hall, the school, and the church.
    The commons of New England towns are important contributors to their charm.
  • (figuratively) The mutual good of all; the abstract concept of resources shared by more than one, for example air, water, information.
    • "The tragedy of the commons " is that none wish to make sacrifices of their or their family's interests for the common good.

    Derived terms

    * digital commons * tragedy of the commons

    Related terms

    * common * commoner

    References

    *