the commune

Commune \Com"mune\ (k[o^]m"m[=u]n), n. [F., fr. commun. See
   {Common}.]
   1. The commonalty; the common people. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
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            In this struggle -- to use the technical words of
            the time -- of the "commune", the general mass of
            the inhabitants, against the "prudhommes" or "wiser"
            few.                                  --J. R. Green.
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   2. A small territorial district in France under the
      government of a mayor and municipal council; also, the
      inhabitants, or the government, of such a district. See
      {Arrondissement}.
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   3. Absolute municipal self-government.
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   4. a group of people living together as an organized
      community and owning in common most or all of their
      property and possessions, and sharing work, income, and
      many other aspects of daily life. Such sommunities are
      oftten organized based on religious or idealistic
      principles, and they sometimes have unconventional
      lifestyles, practises, or moral codes.
      [PJC]

   {The Commune of Paris}, or {The Commune}
      (a) The government established in Paris (1792-94) by a
          usurpation of supreme power on the part of
          representatives chosen by the communes; the period of
          its continuance is known as the "Reign of Terror."
      (b) The revolutionary government, modeled on the commune
          of 1792, which the communists, so called, attempted to
          establish in 1871.
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