Etymologically
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communiste

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 03:52. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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