comună

Forms

comună f (plural comune)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French commune.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} The French word goes back to Latin commūnia, the neuter plural of commūnis (“common”), used as a noun in Late Latin for a community of people.^[2][6] French has ⟨n⟩ there instead of the expected ⟨gn⟩ after its adjective commun.^[2] DA gives Medieval Latin communa beside the French word, and Tiktin names the same Latin form.^[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR and Tiktin date the word to about 1800, in a document published by Iorga, where it means the inhabitants together: a holy house was finished „cu osteneala comunei întregi” “with the toil of the whole commune”.^[2][8][7] In 1848 Negulici defined it as the body of the inhabitants of a village, borough or city, and the house where they gather.^[9]

Semantic evolution

For the administrative sense, a territorial division of one or more villages or a town under a mayor and a council, DA's first quotation for it is from Pretorian's handbook of constitutional and administrative law.^[7][5] Popular speech also used the word for the town hall itself.^[7][5] Historical senses followed French usage: the self-governing towns of medieval western Europe, the Paris Commune of 1792 and of 1871, and the English House of Commons, Camera Comunelor.^[8][5][10] The phrase comuna primitivă “primitive community” names the first stage of human society, with work in common.^[4][11]

Timeline

• c. 1800 – “the inhabitants of a commune”, in a document published by Iorga.^[2][8]
• 1829 – the adjective comunal, from French communal.^[2]
• 1848 – in Negulici's dictionary of neologisms.^[9]
• 1872 – comunard, a supporter of the Paris Commune, in Kogălniceanu.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A commune: the basic administrative unit of Romania, made up of one or more villages and run by a mayor: Satul face parte din comuna vecină.^[4][5][1]
2. The inhabitants of a commune.^[5][7]
3. (popular) The town hall.^[5][7]
4. (historical) A town of medieval western Europe with a degree of self-government.^[4][5]
5. (historical) The revolutionary government of Paris, in 1792 and in 1871: Comuna din Paris.^[5][8]
6. In the phrase comuna primitivă, the first stage of human society, with work in common and equal sharing.^[4][11]

Related words

• comun
• comunal
• comunitate
• comunism

Usage notes

Camera Comunelor is the House of Commons of the British Parliament.^[8][10] A popular variant comână is recorded.^[2][5]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2011–), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române (DELR), vol. I: A–B (2011), vol. II: C (2015–2018), București: Editura Academiei Române; continued online at delr.lingv.ro, p. s.v. comun
3. ^ Ciorănescu, Alexandru (1958–1966), Diccionario etimológico rumano, La Laguna: Universidad de La Laguna (Romanian ed.: Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române, București: Saeculum, 2001), p. s.v. comun
4. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 215
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 476
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d e f Academia Română (1913–1949), Dicționarul limbii române (DA), ed. Sextil Pușcariu, tom I (A–B, C, D–De) and tom II (F–I, J–Lojniță), București: Socec / Universul / Monitorul Oficial și Imprimeriile Statului; page scans at cflr-scans.solirom.ro, p. s.v. comună
8. ^ a b c d e f Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. comună
9. ^ a b Negulici, I. D. (1848), Vocabular romînesc de toate vorbele streine întroduse pînă acum în limba romînească și de toate cuvintele ce s-ar mai putea introduce încă, București, p. s.v. comună
10. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 326
11. ^ a b Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. comună