communal

Etymology

It is borrowed from French communal,^[2][3][4][5] from Old French comunal, recorded from about 1100 in the senses "common" and "unanimous",^[6][2][4] from Late Latin commūnālis,^[3][2][4][7] from Latin commūnis (“common”);^[3][4] Etymonline and Klein put commūna (“commune”) between the two Latin words.^[2][7] According to the OED, the word first came into English in the 15th century from Anglo-Norman, Middle French and Latin, and in later use it was probably also formed in English from commune and -al;^[6] Etymonline calls the modern word a revival of the obsolete Middle English adjective.^[2] It has cognates in Italian comunale, Spanish comunal and Portuguese comunal.^[6] It is related to common and community.^[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Common or unanimous, of consent: before 1470, in Malory's Morte Darthur, where knights promise something "by their comunal assent".^[8][6] This use is recorded only in the late 15th century.^[9]

Semantic evolution

After the Middle English use died out, the word was taken again from French around 1800, at first for things belonging to a French commune: the OED dates this to 1796, Merriam-Webster to 1800 and Etymonline to 1802.^[6][4][2] After 1871 it was also used of the Paris Commune, a use now historical.^[6][9] The sense "shared by the whole community or a group, owned in common" followed in 1843.^[6][2] From 1851 it also meant relating to one particular community, and chiefly in South Asian English it is used of conflict between religious or ethnic communities.^[6][10] Merriam-Webster also records a sense in folklore studies: produced by a simple community as a whole, as the ballad is said to be.^[4]

Timeline

• before 1470 – common, unanimous (obsolete).^[6][8]
• 1796 – of or belonging to a commune.^[6]
• 1800 – first known use in Merriam-Webster.^[4]
• 1843 – shared by a whole community; owned in common.^[6][2]
• 1851 – relating to a particular community.^[6]
• 1871 – relating to the Paris Commune.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Shared by or belonging to a whole community or group; owned in common: a communal kitchen.^{[10][4][6][11]}
2. Relating to a commune, either a local district or a group of people living together and sharing property.^{[10][4][6][11]}
3. Marked by collective ownership and control of goods and property.^[11][4]
4. Relating to the different ethnic or religious communities within a society, especially to conflict between them: communal clashes.^[10][6]
5. (historical) Relating to the Paris Commune of 1871.^[6][9]
6. (obsolete, 1470) Common or unanimous.^[6][8][9]

Word family

• communality
• communally
• uncommunal
• intercommunal
• noncommunal
• communalism
• communalize

Related words

• common
• community
• commune

Usage notes

The stress has varied between the first and second syllable since at least the mid-19th century, and British and American dictionaries disagree over which is the main pronunciation.^[6]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
9. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
11. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin