Communally

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a fashion that signifies collective participation or shared tasks within a group
2. Done in a way that involves joint or collective participation by members of a group
3. Carried out through the cooperative effort or ownership of a community

Etymology: "Communally" is simply "communal" plus the adverbial suffix "-ly," and the suffix is the older and more interesting half of the story. The English "-ly" comes from Old English "-līċe," which in turn descends from a Proto-Germanic form meaning "having the body or form of," so that "-līċe" once carried the sense of "in the manner of" or "in the appearance of." Attaching it to an adjective turned a quality into a way of doing something, and "communally" is one of countless English adverbs built this way. The base word, "communal," entered English through Late Latin "commūnālis," an extension of Latin "commūnis," meaning "common" or "shared in common." The Latin term traces back to Old Latin "comoinis," whose first element means "together" and whose second element comes from a root meaning "obligation" or "exchange," so the idea of things held jointly was built into the word from its earliest recorded form. "Communal" reached English through French, which is why its spelling looks more French than Latin.

Synonyms: jointly, collectively, together, collaboratively, conjointly

Antonyms: individually, separately, solitarily, discretely, privately