community

[ kuh-myoo-ni-tee ]

noun

, plural com·mu·ni·ties.

1. a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage.
2. a locality inhabited by such a group.
3. a social, religious, occupational, or other group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists: the community of scholars;

   the business community;

   the community of scholars;

   diversity within a college community;

   London's Jewish and Muslim communities.

4. a group of associated nations sharing common interests or a common heritage:

   the community of Western Europe.

5. Ecclesiastical. a group of men or women leading a common life according to a rule.
6. Ecology. an assemblage of interacting populations occupying a given area.
7. joint possession, enjoyment, liability, etc.:

   community of property.

8. similarity; agreement; identity:

   community of interests.

   Synonyms: likeness, correspondence

9. the community, the public; society:

   the needs of the community.

community

/ kəˈmjuːnɪtɪ /

noun

1. 1. the people living in one locality
   2. the locality in which they live
   3. ( as modifier )

      community spirit

2. a group of people having cultural, religious, ethnic, or other characteristics in common

   the Protestant community

3. a group of nations having certain interests in common
4. the public in general; society
5. common ownership or participation
6. similarity or agreement

   community of interests

7. (in Wales since 1974 and Scotland since 1975) the smallest unit of local government; a subdivision of a district
8. ecology a group of interdependent plants and animals inhabiting the same region and interacting with each other through food and other relationships

community

/ kə-myo̅o̅′nĭ-tē /

1. A group of organisms or populations living and interacting with one another in a particular environment. The organisms in a community affect each other's abundance, distribution, and evolutionary adaptation. Depending on how broadly one views the interaction between organisms, a community can be small and local, as in a pond or tree, or regional or global, as in a biome.

Other Words From

• com·muni·tal adjective
• procom·munity adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of community¹

First recorded in 1325–75; from Latin commūnitās, equivalent to commūni(s) “common” + -tās noun suffix; replacing Middle English comunete, from Middle French, from Latin as above; common, -ty ²;

Word History and Origins

Origin of community¹

C14: from Latin commūnitās, from commūnis common

Synonym Study

Community, hamlet, village, town, city are terms for groups of people living in somewhat close association, and usually under common rules. Community is a general term, and town is often loosely applied. A commonly accepted set of connotations envisages hamlet as a small group, village as a somewhat larger one, town still larger, and city as very large. Size is, however, not the true basis of differentiation, but properly sets off only hamlet. Incorporation, or the absence of it, and the type of government determine the classification of the others.

Related Words

• association
• center
• company
• district
• nation
• neighborhood
• people
• public
• society
• state