Comm

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A clipped form of communication or communications, referring to the sending and receiving of messages, information, or signals
2. Shorthand for the exchange of information between people, devices, or systems through speech, writing, or electronic means
3. A informal abbreviation for the transmission of messages and data, including the technology and channels that carry them

Etymology: "Comm" is a clipping of "communication," so its story is really the story of the longer word it shortened. That longer word came into Middle English as "comunicacioun," meaning discussion or association, and it reached English through Old French from Latin "commūnicātiōnem," the accusative form of "commūnicātiō," meaning an imparting or sharing. The Latin noun grew from the verb "commūnicō," "to share, to impart," which itself rests on the idea of making something common to several people. The clipping is much more recent than the full word. "Comm" was shortened from "communication" in later English, when speakers began using it as a casual, compact label for the act of passing information between people or machines. Its sense has therefore followed the longer word closely: it still points to the notion of sharing something so that others hold it too.

Synonyms: communication, link, transmission