Intercommunal

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to relations or interactions taking place between distinct ethnic, religious, or social communities within a larger society
2. Describing something that occurs among or connects separate groups of people who each maintain their own identity within one region
3. Characterizing dealings, tensions, or cooperation that span across the boundaries separating different communities living side by side

Etymology: "Intercommunal" is a plain compound: the Latin prefix "inter-", meaning "between" or "among", joined to "communal". That adjective descends from Latin "communis", "common", which combines "com-" ("together") with "munis", a root tied to duties or obligations shared among a group. "Communal" reached English through French, where "communal" was borrowed from Late Latin "communalis", and its meaning in English centres on a shared community, as in communal property or communal kitchens. The Latin prefix "inter-" is the key to the new word. It supplied English with many words expressing relations between parties, such as "international" and "interracial", and "intercommunal" follows that pattern, describing dealings between distinct communal groups rather than within one.

Synonyms: intercultural, interethnic, intergroup