Communalist

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An individual who supports the idea of living in a community-focused manner while promoting shared resources and collective governance
2. A person who values and advocates for communal approaches to social organization, emphasizing cooperative ownership and mutual aid
3. Someone who promotes living together in a community with shared responsibilities and resources

Etymology: "Communalist" is formed within English from "communal" plus the agent suffix "-ist", and it mirrors the French "communaliste." The base "communal" comes from "commune," which traces back through Old French to Latin "communis," meaning "shared" or "common to all." The suffix "-ist" marks a person who supports or practices a particular doctrine, so a communalist is someone who champions shared living arrangements. Because the word is a direct parallel of French usage, its shape is easy to read: the root names the shared quality, and the ending names the believer in it. Its meaning is therefore plain from its parts rather than shifted from an older sense.

Synonyms: socialist, collectivist, cooperative, communitarian, associative

Antonyms: individualist, capitalist, selfish, self-centered, isolated