Communication

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /kəˌmjuːnɪˈkeɪʃn̩/

Definitions

1. The exchange of information, ideas, or feelings between individuals or groups through speech, writing, signals, or behavior
2. The sharing of information, thoughts, or feelings among people through various channels like language, symbols, or gestures
3. The process of conveying thoughts, information, or emotions between individuals or groups through various forms such as spoken word, written text, or nonverbal cues

Etymology: The English noun has a more abstract early life than its modern sense suggests. Its Middle English ancestor, "comunicacioun," meant "discussion" or "association," and the sense of exchanging messages or signals came later. The Old French "communicacion" carried the same range of meanings, and it was borrowed from the Latin "commūnicātiōnem," the accusative form of "commūnicātiō," meaning "imparting" or "communicating." That Latin noun grows from "commūnicō," meaning "to share" or "to impart," which in turn comes from "commūnis," meaning "common" or "shared by all." The root idea is making something common: a thing held in common by two people is shared between them. Many English words built on the same stem, such as "community" and "commune," keep that sense of holding things together. The word is a straightforward formation: "communicate" plus the suffix "-ion," which turns a verb into a noun of action. Its meaning therefore began as the act of sharing and only gradually narrowed toward the transmission of information, ideas, and feelings that it carries now.

Synonyms: conversation, dialogue, interaction, discourse, transmission

Antonyms: silence, reticence, inaction