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commune - 11 dictionary results

com⋅mune

1  [v. kuh-myoon; n. kom-yoon] verb, -muned, -mun⋅ing, noun
Use commune in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to converse or talk together, usually with profound intensity, intimacy, etc.; interchange thoughts or feelings.
2. to be in intimate communication or rapport: to commune with nature.
–noun
3. interchange of ideas or sentiments.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME com(m)unen < MF comuner to share, deriv. of comun common

Related forms:
com⋅mun⋅er, noun

com⋅mune

2  [kuh-myoon]
–verb (used without object), -muned, -mun⋅ing.
to partake of the Eucharist.
Origin:
1275–1325; ME; back formation from communion

com⋅mune

3  [kom-yoon]
–noun
1. a small group of persons living together, sharing possessions, work, income, etc., and often pursuing unconventional lifestyles.
2. a close-knit community of people who share common interests.
3. the smallest administrative division in France, Italy, Switzerland, etc., governed by a mayor assisted by a municipal council.
4. a similar division in some other country.
5. any community organized for the protection and promotion of local interests, and subordinate to the state.
6. the government or citizens of a commune.
7. people's commune.
8. the Commune. Also called Commune of Paris, Paris Commune.
a. 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.
b. a socialistic government of Paris from March 18 to May 27, 1871.
Origin:
1785–95; < F < ML commūna (fem.), alter. of L commūne community, state, orig. neut. of commūnis common

people's commune

 
–noun
a usually rural, Communist Chinese social and administrative unit of from 2000 to 4000 families combined for collective farming, fishing, mining, or industrial projects.
Also called commune.

Origin:
1970–75
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To commune
com·mune 1   (kə-myōōn')   
intr.v.   com·muned, com·mun·ing, com·munes
  1. To be in a state of intimate, heightened sensitivity and receptivity, as with one's surroundings: hikers communing with nature.
  2. To receive the Eucharist.

[Middle English comunen, to have common dealings with, converse, from Old French communer, to make common, share (from commun, common; see common) and perhaps from Old French communier, to share in the Communion (from Late Latin commūnicāre, from Latin, to communicate; see communicate).]
com·mun'er n.
com·mune 2   (kŏm'yōōn', kə-myōōn')   
n.  
    1. A relatively small, often rural community whose members share common interests, work, and income and often own property collectively.
    2. The people in such a community.
    3. A local community organized with a government for promoting local interests.
    4. A municipal corporation in the Middle Ages.
    5. The revolutionary group that controlled the government of Paris from 1789 to 1794.
    6. The insurrectionary, socialist government that controlled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871.
  2. The smallest local political division of various European countries, governed by a mayor and municipal council.
    1. A local community organized with a government for promoting local interests.
    2. A municipal corporation in the Middle Ages.
    3. The revolutionary group that controlled the government of Paris from 1789 to 1794.
    4. The insurrectionary, socialist government that controlled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871.
  4. often Commune
    1. The revolutionary group that controlled the government of Paris from 1789 to 1794.
    2. The insurrectionary, socialist government that controlled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871.

[French, independent municipality, from Old French comugne, from Medieval Latin commūnia, community, from neuter of Latin commūnis, common; see mei-1 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Commune

Com*mune"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Communed; p. pr. & vb. n. Communing.] [OF. communier, fr. L. communicare to communicate, fr. communis common. See Common, and cf. Communicate.]

1. To converse together with sympathy and confidence; to interchange sentiments or feelings; to take counsel.

I would commune with you of such things That want no ear but yours. --Shak.

2. To receive the communion; to partake of the eucharist or Lord's supper.

To commune under both kinds. --Bp. Burnet.

To commune with one's self or one's heart, to think; to reflect; to meditate.

Commune

Com"mune\, n. Communion; sympathetic intercourse or conversation between friends.

For days of happy commune dead. --Tennyson.

Commune

Com"mune\, n. [F., fr. commun. See Common.]

1. The commonalty; the common people. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

In this struggle -- to use the technical words of the time -- of the "commune", the general mass of the inhabitants, against the "prudhommes" or "wiser" few. --J. R. Green.

2. A small territorial district in France under the government of a mayor and municipal council; also, the inhabitants, or the government, of such a district. See Arrondissement.

3. Absolute municipal self-government.

The Commune of Paris, or The Commune (a) The government established in Paris (1792-94) by a usurpation of supreme power on the part of representatives chosen by the communes; the period of its continuance is known as the "Reign of Terror." (b) The revolutionary government, modeled on the commune of 1792, which the communists, so called, attempted to establish in 1871.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : commune
Spanish: comuna,
German: die Kommune,
Japanese: 共同生活体
More Translations »

commune  (v.)
1297, from O.Fr. comuner "to make common, share," from comun (see common).

commune  (n.)
1792, from Fr., "small territorial divisions set up after the Revolution," from M.Fr. commune "free city, group of citizens," from M.L. communia, orig. neut. pl. of L. communis, lit. "that which is common," from communis (see common). The Commune of Paris usurped the government during the Reign of Terror. The word was later applied to a government on communalistic principles set up in Paris in 1871. Adherents of the 1871 government were Communards.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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