mutual

View more Health videos

1.

That done, our day of marriage shall be yours, One feast, one house, one mutual happiness.—Shakespeare, Two Gentlemen of Verona, v.iv.170–1.

Until the 19th century, mutual was used with little difficulty in two main meanings: (1) that reflected in Valentine's words just quoted from Two Gentlemen, i.e. 'common, shared by several', and (2) another, slightly older, meaning defined as 'experienced or done by each of two or more parties with reference to each other', i.e. more or less equivalent to the much more awkward word reciprocal; this meaning is also found in Shakespeare: A contract of eternal bond of love, Confirmed by mutual joinder [= joining]

of your hands—Twelfth Night, v.i.154–5.

Although the Old English (up to 1150)D gives copious evidence for phrases of the type our mutual friend (first recorded in 1658, i.e. long before Dickens used it as a title), our mutual acquaintance, our mutual opinion, etc., the 19th century grammarians decided on the basis largely of their Latin view of grammar and meaning that while 'the mutual love of husband and wife' is correct enough, 'a mutual friend of both husband and wife' is 'sheer nonsense' (Henry Alford, Dean of Canterbury, 1864). (How 'sheer nonsense' can be used of something that is readily understood itself makes no sense.)

2. The state of affairs now, in the early part of the 21th century, is that most usage guides warn against the use of mutual to mean 'common, shared' when there is no element of reciprocal action or feeling, i.e. not just shared but acting in both directions (and usually involving no more than two parties). But meaning is not that containable, and is not always obligingly resident in individual words. Mutual is the kind of word that draws its meaning from its surroundings:

On the whole even Marwan was pretty laissez-faire about a girl and a boy talking about subjects of mutual interest—Nigel Williams, 1993

(the interest may not be two-way but the talking is.) Furthermore, anyone who insists on using common instead of mutual is not living in the real world: common has acquired so much ancillary meaning from the other work it has to do that it will almost invariably change or weaken the sense. So the recommendation must be twofold: (1) use common or joint (or, often better, in common or jointly) if it fits without any of its other meanings getting in the way and has the force of meaning needed, especially in cases where it may be significant that the action is not two-way (people facing common problems), (2) otherwise use mutual, whether there is explicit reciprocal action or not:

Wilde and Yeats reviewed each other's work with mutual regard—R. Ellmann, 1986

In the aftermath of their mutual suffering, a former British commando and a German opera singer's daughter found love, marriage and a joint desire to explain the significance of the events they experienced—Independent, 2004.

3. The difference in usage between mutual and reciprocal was succinctly summed up by Fowler as follows: 'Mutual regards the relation from both sides at once: the mutual hatred of A and B; never from one side only: not B's mutual hatred of A. Where mutual is correct, reciprocal would be so too: the reciprocal hatred of A and B; but mutual is usually preferred when it is possible. Reciprocal can also be applied to the second party's share alone: B's reciprocal hatred of A. Reciprocal is therefore often useful to supply the deficiencies of mutual.'

Previous:	mute e, must, muscle, mussel
Next:	myriad, myself, ménage

adjective

1. Having the same relationship each to the other: reciprocal, reciprocative. See connect.
2. Belonging to, shared by, or applicable to all alike: common, communal, conjoint, general, joint, public. See group.

adj

Definition: shared, common
Antonyms: detached, dissociated, distinct, separate, unshared

IN BRIEF: Related to sharing together.

That couple finds tennis to be mutually satisfying so they play together often.

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

adj

Interchangeable; reciprocal; joint.

For a list of words related to mutually, see:

• Reflections and References

---

See words rhyming with "mutual."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Mutual .

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - gensidig, indbyrdes
n. - investeringsforening/-selskab

idioms:

• mutual fund    investeringsforening, investeringsselskab
• mutual insurance    gensidig forsikring
• mutually exclusive    gensidigt udelukkende

Nederlands (Dutch)
wederzijds, onderling, gezamenlijk

Français (French)
adj. - mutuel, réciproque, commun, (Comm) mutuel
n. - (US, Fin) fonds commun de placement

idioms:

• mutual fund    (US, Fin) fonds commun de placement
• mutual insurance    mutuelle, assurance mutuelle
• mutually exclusive    mutuellement exclusif

Deutsch (German)
adj. - gegenseitig, wechselseitig, gemeinsam
n. - gemeinsamer Freund, Investmentgesellschaft

idioms:

• mutual fund    Investmentgesellschaft
• mutual insurance    Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit
• mutually exclusive    einander ausschließend

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - αμοιβαίος, κοινός
n. - αμοιβαία κεφάλαια

idioms:

• mutual fund    αμοιβαία κεφάλαια
• mutual insurance    αμοιβαία ασφάλιση, ασφάλεια
• mutually exclusive    αλληλοαποκλειόμενος

Italiano (Italian)
mutuo

idioms:

• mutual fund    fondo comune
• mutual insurance    mutua assicurazioni
• mutually exclusive    che si escludono vicendevolmente

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - recíproco
n. - recíproco (m)

idioms:

• mutual fund    fundo mútuo
• mutual insurance    seguro em grupo
• mutually exclusive    mutuamente excludentes

Русский (Russian)
взаимный, общий, соответственный, отзывчивый

idioms:

• mutual fund    взаимный фонд, инвестиционный фонд открытого типа
• mutual insurance    взаимное страхование
• mutually exclusive    взаимоисключающее

Español (Spanish)
adj. - mutuo, recíproco, mutual
n. - fondo mutual

idioms:

• mutual fund    fondo mutualista, mutualidad
• mutual insurance    seguros mutuos
• mutually exclusive    se excluyen mutuamente

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - ömsesidig, gemensam
n. - ömsesidighet

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
相互的, 共有的, 相互保险公司, 共同基金, 共同的朋友

idioms:

• mutual fund    共有基金
• mutual insurance    互助保险
• mutually exclusive    互斥的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 相互的, 共有的
n. - 相互保險公司, 共同基金, 共同的朋友

idioms:

• mutual fund    共有基金
• mutual insurance    互助保險
• mutually exclusive    互斥的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 상호간의, 공도의
n. - 투자 신탁 회사

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 相互の, 共同の, 共通の

idioms:

• mutual fund    オープンエンド投資信託会社
• mutual insurance    相互保険

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) متبادل (الاسم) مشترك‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮הדדי, משותף, מתייחסים זה לזה‬
n. - ‮קרן נאמנות‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.