a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage.
2.
a locality inhabited by such a group.
3.
a social, religious, occupational, or other group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists (usually prec. by the): the business community; the community of scholars.
4.
a group of associated nations sharing common interests or a common heritage: the community of Western Europe.
5.
Ecclesiastical. a group of men or women leading a common life according to a rule.
6.
Ecology. an assemblage of interacting populations occupying a given area.
7.
joint possession, enjoyment, liability, etc.: community of property.
8.
similar character; agreement; identity: community of interests.
9.
the community, the public; society: the needs of the community.
[Origin: 1325–75; < L commūnitās, equiv. to commūni(s) common+ -tās-ty2; r. ME comunete < MF < L as above]
—Related forms
com·mu·ni·tal, adjective
—Synonyms 1.Community,hamlet,village,town,city are terms for groups of people living in somewhat close association, and usually under common rules. Community is a general term, and town is often loosely applied. A commonly accepted set of connotations envisages hamlet as a small group, village as a somewhat larger one, town still larger, and city as very large. Size is, however, not the true basis of differentiation, but properly sets off only hamlet. Incorporation, or the absence of it, and the type of government determine the classification of the others. 8. similarity, likeness.
1375, from O.Fr. communité, from L. communitatem (nom. communitas) "community, fellowship," from communis "common, public, general, shared by all or many," (see common). L. communitatem "was merely a noun of quality ... meaning 'fellowship, community of relations or feelings,' but in med.L. it was, like universitas, used concretely in the sense of 'a body of fellows or fellow-townsmen' " [OED]. An O.E. word for "community" was gemænscipe "community, fellowship, union, common ownership," probably composed from the same PIE roots as communis.
communityAudio Help (kə-my'nĭ-tē) Pronunciation Key
A group of organisms or populations living and interacting with one another in a particular environment. The organisms in a community affect each other's abundance, distribution, and evolutionary adaptation. Depending on how broadly one views the interaction between organisms, a community can be small and local, as in a pond or tree, or regional or global, as in a biome.
Main Entry: com·mu·ni·ty Pronunciation: k&-'myü-n&t-E Function: noun Inflected Form: plural-ties : a
unified body of individuals: as a: the people with common interests living in a particular area; broadly: the area itself <the problems of a large
community> b: an interacting population of various kinds of individuals (as species) in a common location c: a group of people with a common characteristic
or interest living together within a larger society <a community of retired persons>
Main Entry: com·mu·ni·ty Function: noun Inflected Form: plural-ties 1: the people who live in a particular place or region
and usually are linked by some common interests 2 a: the mass of community property owned by a husband and wife <a spouse may not…lease to a third person his undivided
interest in the community or in particular things of the community —Louisiana Civil Code> b: the entity created upon the marriage of a husband and wife for
the purposes of ownership of property in community property states <an agreement terminating the community> —see also community property at PROPERTY, REGIME
Nespelem Community, WA (CDP, FIPS 48550) Location: 48.16712 N, 119.01909 W Population (1990): 291 (89 housing units) Area: 59.8 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Nisqually Indian Community, WA (CDP, FIPS 49193) Location: 47.00585 N, 122.66983 W Population (1990): 558 (162 housing units) Area: 6.7 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Com*mu"ni*ty\, n.; pl. Communities. [L. communitas: cf. OF. communit['e]. Cf. Commonalty, and see Common.]1. Common possession or enjoyment; participation; as, a community of goods. The original community of all things. --Locke. An unreserved community of thought and feeling. --W. Irving. 2. A body of people having common rights, privileges, or interests, or living in the same place under the same laws and regulations; as, a community of monks. Hence a number of animals living in a common home or with some apparent association of interests. Creatures that in communities exist. --Wordsworth. 3. Society at large; a commonwealth or state; a body politic; the public, or people in general. Burdens upon the poorer classes of the community. --Hallam. Note: In this sense, the term should be used with the definite article; as, the interests of the community. 4. Common character; likeness. [R.] The essential community of nature between organic growth and inorganic growth. --H. Spencer. 5. Commonness; frequency. [Obs.] Eyes . . . sick and blunted with community. --Shak.
![[P]](http://cache.lexico.com/g/d/premium_mh.gif){kind=small}
Audio Help [kuh-myoo-ni-tee] Pronunciation Key 
'nĭ-tē) Pronunciation Key
