communion

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English communioun,^[2][3] borrowed from Anglo-Norman communiun, also comunion, and communion,^[4][5][3][2] and partly borrowed from Latin commūniō (“mutual participation, association, union”),^[4][6][7] formed from commūnis (“common”) and the suffix -iō.^[4][8] In Anglo-Norman it is recorded from the first half of the 12th century, for fellowship between people of one faith and for taking part in the Eucharist.^[4][5] In post-classical Latin the word also meant the Eucharist (4th century) and the union of Christians (about 400, in Augustine);^[4] Augustine believed it came from com- (“with, together”) and ūnus (“one”).^[3] Other Romance forms are Catalan comunió, Spanish comunión, Portuguese comunhão and Italian comunione.^[4] The religious senses depend on ecclesiastical Latin.^[6][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Sharing or holding something in common; mutual participation: before 1382, in the Wycliffite Bible.^[4][8] Klein credits Wycliffe with bringing the word into English.^[9]

Semantic evolution

By about 1405, in Chaucer's Parson's Tale, the word was used for the fellowship between members of one church, or between churches that recognize each other.^[4] The sense of taking part in the Eucharist is first recorded in 1440, in the Promptorium Parvulorum;^[4][8] Etymonline dates "the sacrament" to the mid-15th century and "the act of partaking" to about 1500.^[3] Before that, religious use had the older word communing.^[7] Where the Vulgate has communicatio (the Greek word κοινωνία (koinōnía)) in 1 Corinthians 10:16, Wycliffe wrote comenynge, Tyndale and Cranmer partakynge, and the Authorized Version communion.^[10] The sense "communication, conversation" is recorded before 1460,^[4] and a church or denomination, a body of people sharing one faith, from 1553.^[4] From about 1548 the word was used for close spiritual union, and later, at first in poetry, for an intimate feeling of union with nature or the like.^[4] The phrase communion of saints is found from about 1440.^[4] In Lancashire it once meant the body of communicants, and in Kent the chancel of a church.^[11]

Timeline

• before 1382 – sharing, mutual participation, in the Wycliffite Bible.^[4][8]
• c. 1405 – fellowship between members of one church, in Chaucer.^[4]
• 1440 – taking part in the Eucharist.^[4][8]
• c. 1440 – communion of saints.^[4]
• before 1460 – communication, conversation.^[4]
• c. 1548 – close spiritual union.^[4]
• 1553 – a church or denomination.^[4]
• 1730 – an antiphon sung during the Eucharist.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A close sharing of thoughts or feelings: a moment of silent communion between old friends.^[12][13][4]
2. Sharing or holding something in common; participation.^[12][13][4]
3. An intimate feeling of spiritual union with something, followed by a preposition: communion with nature.^[12][4]
4. A group of Christians sharing the same beliefs and rites; a church or denomination.^[12][13][4]
5. The spiritual union of Christians with Christ, their church or each other.^[12][4]
6. Usually Communion or Holy Communion: the sacrament of the Eucharist, its celebration, or the receiving of the consecrated bread and wine.^[12][13][4]
7. An antiphon or psalm sung or said during or after the Eucharist, chiefly in the Roman Catholic Church.^[4]

Word family

• communionable
• communional
• communionist
• intercommunion
• Holy Communion
• open communion

Related words

• common
• communal
• communicate
• community
• commune

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
6. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
9. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
10. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
11. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
12. ^ a b c d e f Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
13. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster