Etymograph

English

communism

Communism comes from French commun ‘common’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *mey- ‘to attach, bind, strengthen’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mey-1‘to attach, bind, strengthen’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
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400comun1‘common’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentcommun1‘common’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentcommunisme1
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1932communism1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English communism
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1932, D. H. Lawrence, The Letters of D.H. Lawrence: “I want to gather together about twenty souls and…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mey-Wiktionary, English communism‘to attach, bind, strengthen’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱom-moy-ni-sWiktionary, English communismreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kommoinisWiktionary, English communism‘common’reconstructed
  4. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEcomoinisWiktionary, English communism
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommūnisWiktionary, English communism
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400comunWiktionary, English communism‘common’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentcommunWiktionary, English communism‘common’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentcommunismeWiktionary, English communism
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1932communismWiktionary, English communism. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1932, D. H. Lawrence, The Letters of D.H. Lawrence: “I want to gather together about twenty souls and…”

Equivalent to commune + -ism

Proto-Indo-European *mey- ‘to change’

…

Latin commūne ‘community, state’

Medieval Latin commūnia

Old French comune

Middle English commune

English commune

The story

A borrowing from French communisme, which was formed from commun (‘common’) (from Latin commūnis) and the suffix -isme (‘-ism’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

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

mean, met, minute, minister, minor, mess, meal, min, commission, ministry, menu, mere, mutual, minus, missile, commit, compromise, mole, premise, immune, dismiss, mayhem, noodle, intermittent, moor, ammunition, municipality, mural, immunity, ammo, mite, remuneration, omit, monolith, minstrel, mitra, mitre, mitosis, meiosis, minuet, 73 more

through Proto-Italic *kommoinis ‘common’

commonly, 20 more

through Latin commūnis

common, telecommunication, excommunication, 21 more

Today it means

noun Any far-left political ideology or philosophy advocating holding the production of resources collectively, especially by seizing it through revolution.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “communism”. 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- / communism

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