Etymology

communist

com·mu·nist
C3O1M3M3U1N1I1S1T1

Today it means: Of, relating to, supporting, or advocating communism. Full definition →

French communiste ← Old French comun ← Latin commūnis
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*mey-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ḱom-moy-ni-s
  3. Proto-Italic*kommoinis
  4. Old Latincomoinis
  5. Latincommūnis
  6. Old Frenchcomun
  7. Frenchcommun
  8. Frenchcommuniste
  9. English todaycommunist

From French communiste, from commun (“common, communal”) + -iste (“-ist”). By surface analysis, commune + -ist.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.