The Commune of Paris
(gcide) | Commune \Com"mune\ (k[o^]m"m[=u]n), n. [F., fr. commun. See
Common.]
1. The commonalty; the common people. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
3. Absolute municipal self-government.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster] |