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Latin Roots of "Communication"

"Communication" is a word with a rich history. From the Latin communicare, meaning to impart, share, or make common, it entered the English language in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The key root is mun- (not uni-), related to such words as "munificent," "community," "meaning," and Gemeinschaft. The Latin munus has to do with gifts or duties offered publicly--including gladitorial shows, tributes, and rites to honor the dead. In Latin, communicatio did not signify the general arts of human connection via symbols, nor did it suggest the hope for some kind of mutual recognition. Its sense was not in the least mentalistic: communicatio generally involved tangibles."

~John Durham Peters (1999, p. 7)

Related Latin Words

commuĝnicaĝ´ti/oĝ -oĝ´nis f. imparting; (rhet.) making the audience appear to take part in the discussion.
commuĝ´nic/oĝ -aĝ´re -aĝ´v iĝ -aĝ´tum vt. Share (by giving or receiving); impart, communicate. coĝnsilia &endash;&endash; cum make common cause with.
commuĝ´n/ioĝ -iĝ´re -iĝ´vi & -iiĝ -a´tum vt. build (a fortification); fortify; strengthen.
commuĝ´ni/oĝ -oĝ´nis f. sharing in common, communion.
commuĝ´n/is a. common, general, universal; (person) affable, democratic. -ia loca public places. -eĝs lociĝ general topics. -is seĝnsus popular sentiment. Aliquid -e habeĝre have something in common. -eĝ -is n. common property; state. in -e for a common end; equally; in general. -iter adj. in common, jointly.
commuĝ´nt/aĝs -aĝ-tis f. fellowship; sense of fellowship; affability.
commuĝniĝ´tioĝ -oĝ´nis f. preparing the way.

~Collins Latin Gem Dictionary (London, 1961)

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