commune1
[verb kuh-myoon; noun kom-yoon]
- to converse or talk together, usually with profound intensity, intimacy, etc.; interchange thoughts or feelings.
- to be in intimate communication or rapport: to commune with nature.
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- interchange of ideas or sentiments.
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Origin of commune1
commune2
[kuh-myoon]
- to partake of the Eucharist.
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Origin of commune2
commune3
[kom-yoon]
- a small group of persons living together, sharing possessions, work, income, etc., and often pursuing unconventional lifestyles.
- a close-knit community of people who share common interests.
- the smallest administrative division in France, Italy, Switzerland, etc., governed by a mayor assisted by a municipal council.
- a similar division in some other country.
- any community organized for the protection and promotion of local interests, and subordinate to the state.
- the government or citizens of a commune.
- people's commune.
- the Commune. Also called Commune of Paris, Paris Commune.
- a revolutionary committee that took the place of the municipality of Paris in the revolution of 1789, usurped the authority of the state, and was suppressed by the National Convention in 1794.
- a socialistic government of Paris from March 18 to May 27, 1871.
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Origin of commune3
1785–95; < French < Medieval Latin commūna (feminine), alteration of Latin commūne community, state, orig. neuter of commūnis common
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
kibbutz, municipality, cooperative, village, commonality, neighborhood, family, collective, community, commonage, ponder, parley, converse, mediate, muse, confer, reflect, contemplate, discourse, discussExamples from the Web for commune
Contemporary Examples
Even if there were cows, they belonged to the commune and no one was allowed to slaughter them or consume them.
“I grew up in a very special family, on a commune, and I loved it,” he says.
Today's commune members strive to reconcile communal responsibility with individual ambitions and aspirations.
“I went there to study F. Scott Fitzgerald and Hemingway, and I moved in next door to a commune of heroin addicts,” Lawford says.
“Our commune is the best ark for surviving disasters,” she said.
Historical Examples
The abominable and shameful peace had been signed, the wretched Commune crushed.
My Double LifeSarah Bernhardt
The war of 1870, the Commune, were but three years behind them.
A Writer's Recollections (In Two Volumes), Volume IMrs. Humphry Ward
"The candle-sticks were looted during the Commune," he began hurriedly.
The Education of Eric LaneStephen McKenna
If a peasant of Marosfalva had it it would do good to the commune.
A Bride of the PlainsBaroness Emmuska Orczy
When from the ‘commune of air,’ from ‘the exquisite fabric of Silence,’
The Battle of the BaysOwen Seaman
commune1
- to talk or converse intimately
- to experience strong emotion or spiritual feelings (for)to commune with nature
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- intimate conversation; exchange of thoughts; communion
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Word Origin
C13: from Old French comuner to hold in common, from comun common
commune2
- (intr) Christianity, mainly US to partake of Communion
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Word Origin
C16: back formation from communion
commune3
- a group of families or individuals living together and sharing possessions and responsibilities
- any small group of people having common interests or responsibilities
- the smallest administrative unit in Belgium, France, Italy, and Switzerland, governed by a mayor and council
- the government or inhabitants of a commune
- a medieval town enjoying a large degree of autonomy
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Word Origin
C18: from French, from Medieval Latin commūnia, from Latin: things held in common, from commūnis common
Commune
- See Paris Commune
- a committee that governed Paris during the French Revolution and played a leading role in the Reign of Terror: suppressed 1794
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for commune
v.
c.1300, "have dealings with," from Old French comuner "to make common, share" (10c., Modern French communier), from comun (see common (adj.)). Meaning "to talk intimately" is late 14c. Related: Communed; communing.
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n.
1792, from French commune "small territorial divisions set up after the Revolution," from Middle French commune "free city, group of citizens" (12c.), from Medieval Latin communia, noun use of neuter plural of Latin adjective communis, literally "that which is common," from communis (see common (adj.)). The Commune of Paris usurped the government during the Reign of Terror. The word later was applied to a government on communalistic principles set up in Paris in 1871. Adherents of the 1871 government were Communards.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper