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commun

Etymology and origin of the French word commun

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
842, Strasbourg Oaths
Inherited from
Latin communis via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin (mūnus)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin communis
French commun

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /kɔ.mœ̃/[1]

Forms

commun (feminine commune, masculine plural communs, feminine plural communes)[1] Old French comun, feminine comune from the first texts.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French comun, inherited from Latin commūnis (“shared by all or many”),[4][5][2][6] formed from “cum” “with” and “-munis” “who performs his duty”, related to Latin mūnus (“duty; gift”).[5][7] The root “*mei-” “to exchange” appears in Indo-European words for regulated exchange, often legal (see muer).[5][7] In Late Latin “communis” also meant “mediocre, vulgar”, and in Christian writers “impure”.[5]

Cognate with Italian comune, Old Occitan comun, Catalan comú, Spanish común and Portuguese comum.[7][3] English common is from the Anglo-Norman word, which the Normans took to England with its feudal sense of what belongs to a community.[5][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Strasbourg Oaths (842) have pro Deo amur et pro christian poblo et nostro commun salvament, for our common salvation.[4][3]

Semantic evolution

The first sense, “of all or most people”, survives in droit commun (Beaumanoir, 1283), sens commun (1690) and le commun des mortels (le comun des janz, Chrétien de Troyes, 1172–1174).[4][5] From about 1160 it also meant “ordinary”, and as a noun “the common people” (homme du commun, Corneille, 1636), with a pejorative colour that also tinges commun “widespread” (13th century) and communément.[4][5]

The collective sense, “done together, shared by all members of a group”, appears in Saint Alexis (commune oraison, about 1050), with en commun (early 12th century), vie commune and d'un commun accord (1248).[4][5] It was specialised in grammar (noms communs, 14th century) and mathematics (dénominateur commun, 16th century); Montaigne's lieux communs (1595) were passages applicable to general subjects, later commonplaces (1718).[4][5] Les communs, the outbuildings of a château, date from 1704.[5]

Timeline

  • 842 – Commun in the Strasbourg Oaths.[4]
  • c. 1050 – Commune oraison in Saint Alexis.[4]
  • c. 1160 – “Ordinary”, la gent comune.[4]
  • 1248 – Kemun assentement.[4]
  • 1283 – Droit commun in Beaumanoir.[4]
  • 1595 – Lieux communs in Montaigne.[4]
  • 1690 – Sens commun.[4]
  • 1704 – Les communs.[5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Common, shared: un but commun, salle commune, en commun: together, d'un commun accord.[7][1]
  2. General, of all: le bien commun, le sens commun, droit commun.[4][1]
  3. Usual, widespread: une plante commune, nom commun.[7][1]
  4. (pejorative) Ordinary, vulgar: des manières communes.[1][7]
  5. N'avoir rien de commun avec: to have nothing in common with, sans commune mesure: beyond comparison.[9][7]

Noun

  1. Le commun: the generality, most people: le commun des mortels, hors du commun: exceptional.[10][4]
  2. (plural) Outbuildings, offices (of a large house).[5][4]

Word family

  • communal
  • communauté
  • communément
  • communisme
  • communiste
  • communément
  • commune

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  3. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 961a
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  9. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  10. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Commun.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/commun. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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