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definitions

commune

1
[verb kuh-myoon; noun kom-yoon]
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verb (used without object), com·muned, com·mun·ing.

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.

noun

interchange of ideas or sentiments.

Origin of commune

1
1250–1300; Middle English com(m)unen < Middle French comuner to share, derivative of comun common
Related formscom·mun·er, noun

commune

2
[kuh-myoon]

verb (used without object), com·muned, com·mun·ing.

to partake of the Eucharist.

Origin of commune

2
1275–1325; Middle English; back formation from communion
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for communing

ponder, parley, converse, mediate, muse, confer, reflect, contemplate, discourse, discuss

Examples from the Web for communing

Contemporary Examples of communing

Historical Examples of communing

  • It was the need of being by herself, the haste of communing alone with her great happiness.

    The Dream

    Emile Zola

  • "No doubt they took you because of that," Sir Oliver pursued, as if communing with himself.

    The Sea-Hawk

    Raphael Sabatini

  • Hence an opportunity of communing with the world he valued at its just price.

  • "How cold and cruel I have become," she said, as if she were communing with herself.

    Nell, of Shorne Mills

    Charles Garvice

  • We've been out walking and communing with nature and getting acquainted.

    Highways in Hiding

    George Oliver Smith

British Dictionary definitions for communing

commune

1

verb (kəˈmjuːn) (intr usually foll by with)

to talk or converse intimately
to experience strong emotion or spiritual feelings (for)to commune with nature

noun (ˈkɒmjuːn)

intimate conversation; exchange of thoughts; communion

Word Origin for commune

C13: from Old French comuner to hold in common, from comun common

commune

2

verb

(intr) Christianity, mainly US to partake of Communion

Word Origin for commune

C16: back formation from communion

commune

3

noun

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

Word Origin for commune

C18: from French, from Medieval Latin commūnia, from Latin: things held in common, from commūnis common

Commune

noun French history

See Paris Commune
a committee that governed Paris during the French Revolution and played a leading role in the Reign of Terror: suppressed 1794
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 communing

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.

commune

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper