Communiques

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Formal statements issued by an organization, government or authority to convey official news or decisions to the public or to other parties
2. Official messages or bulletins sent out by a body such as a government, military or company to share information and instructions
3. Authoritative written notices or dispatches released by an institution to report developments or announce its position on a matter

Etymology: "Communiqués" is the French past participle of "communiquer," meaning "to communicate" or "to impart," and the English word is the French form taken over whole, accent and all. The plural "communiques" is simply the English spelling that drops the accent, which is why the source treats it as a misspelling of the accented form. "Communiquer" itself comes from the Latin "communicare," "to share, impart, or make common," built on "communis," "common," so the core idea is making something shared between people. The notion of a formal written announcement sits comfortably with that root: a communiqué is something issued so that a message is shared widely and officially. English borrowed the word from French in its specialised sense of an official bulletin, and it is most often heard now in reports of government or military statements.

Synonyms: bulletin, announcement, dispatch, statement, report