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communiste

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Etymology and origin of the French word communiste

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1706
Ultimate origin
Latin commūnis
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin communis
French commun
French communiste
English communist
Italian comune
From the same root
Latin communiter ← communis

Pronunciation

  • /kɔ.my.nist/[1]

Forms

communiste (plural communistes)[1]

Etymology

It is from French commun + -iste.[2][3][1][4] The adjective commun is commūnis (“common, shared”).[5] Its political use belongs with that of commune in 1789 and in 1870,[6] and with communisme, which appeared at the end of the 18th century.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

According to Jacques Grandjonc, whose history of the word Rey follows, the adjective is first found in 1706 for someone concerned with the common good; as a noun it then meant a member of a community, a sense still found during the Revolution.[6][3] Mirabeau used it in 1769 for the joint holders of a right, and Littré still recorded it as a legal term for a co-owner of undivided property.[2][5][7]

Semantic evolution

The ideological sense, “supporter of the community of goods”, appears in 1785 in a correspondent of Restif de la Bretonne, d'Hupay de Fuveau, who called himself an auteur communiste;[6] Restif himself used it in Monsieur Nicolas (1797), while Babeuf in 1793 said communautistes.[6] After a period of rarity it reappeared in Lamennais (1832) and in Landais's dictionary (1834).[6][8][5] The first communist banquet, in July 1840, spread the word, together with parti communiste for what was then a current of opinion;[6][2] Cabet took it as his banner and Proudhon used it in 1840.[6][2]

The English word communist was taken from it in 1841, and its main modern sense followed the Communist Manifesto of 1848.[9] In French the noun was also used for a supporter of the Paris Commune of 1871.[10] With the parties of the Communist International the word came to mean a member of such a party, and parti communiste a party of Marxist–Leninist doctrine (1922).[11][8]

Timeline

  • 1706 – First recorded, for someone concerned with the common good.[6][3]
  • 1769 – Mirabeau uses it for the joint holders of a right.[2][5]
  • 1785 – Auteur communiste in d'Hupay de Fuveau, with the ideological sense.[6]
  • 1797 – Restif de la Bretonne uses it in Monsieur Nicolas.[6]
  • 1832 – Lamennais revives the word.[6][8]
  • 1834 – Recorded in Landais's dictionary.[6]
  • 1840 – The first communist banquet spreads it, Proudhon uses it.[6][2]
  • 1841 – English communist is formed from it.[9]
  • 1922 – Parti communiste for a Marxist–Leninist party.[11]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (historical) In favour of communisme as a doctrine of common ownership: les communistes babouvistes.[8][2]
  2. Seeking a social revolution together with the workers' movements.[8]
  3. Belonging to a party, a state or an international organization that claims to follow Marxism: le Parti communiste français.[8][11]

Noun

  1. A communist: a supporter of communism, or a member of a communist party.[8][1]
  2. (France) A member of the French Communist Party.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g 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
  3. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 962a
  5. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  10. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  11. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse

Borrowed into

Cite this entry

“Communiste.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/communiste. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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