Etymograph

English

communication

Communication comes from Old French communicacion, from Latin commūnicātiō ‘imparting’, from commūnicō ‘to share’, from commūnis ‘common’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mey-1‘to change’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱom-moy-ni-s1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kommoinis1‘common’reconstructed
  4. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEcomoinis1
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommūnis1‘common, shared’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommūnicō2‘to share, impart’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommūnicātiō2‘sharing, imparting’
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400communicacion2‘communication’
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500comunicacioun2
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1599communication2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin communico
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English communication
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1599, William Shakespeare, The Life of Henry the Fift: “Argument […] and friendly communication.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mey-Wiktionary, Latin communico‘to change’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱom-moy-ni-sWiktionary, Latin communicoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kommoinisWiktionary, Latin communico‘common’reconstructed
  4. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEcomoinisWiktionary, Latin communico
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommūnisWiktionary, Latin communico‘common, shared’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommūnicōWiktionary, English communication‘to share, impart’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommūnicātiōWiktionary, English communication‘sharing, imparting’
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400communicacionWiktionary, English communication‘communication’
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500comunicaciounWiktionary, English communication
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1599communicationWiktionary, English communication. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1599, William Shakespeare, The Life of Henry the Fift: “Argument […] and friendly communication.”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with communication, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *mey- ‘to attach, bind, strengthen’

  • mean ← menen ← mǣnan ← *mainijan ← *mainijaną
  • met ← meten ← mætan ← *maitijan ← *maitaną
  • minute ← mynute ← minūtus ← minuō ← *minuō
  • minister ← ministre ← ministre ← minor ← *minōs
  • minor ← *minōs ← *minuō ← *minéwti
  • mess ← mes ← mēse ← mē(n)sa ← mittō
  • ministry ← mynisterie ← menistere ← ministerium ← minister
  • meal ← mole ← māl ← *mailą
  • min ← *minni ← *minniz
  • commission ← commissioun ← commissiō ← committō ← mittō
  • menu ← minūtus ← minuō ← *minuō
  • missile ← missilis ← mittō ← mītō ← *meyth₂-

148 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun The act or fact of communicating anything; transmission.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “communication”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin communico. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *mey- / communication