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Does communis = co- + munus (and related words like communicare and communio), as though that which is shared/common "with" (co- < cum) involves a shared obligation/duty (munus)?

I'm thinking of how "companion" = cum + panis, in the sense that companions share/eat bread (panis) together/with (cum).

I don't see the word communis in de Vaan, Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the Other Italic Languages, perhaps because "communicate" seems to date from 3rd cent. in Tertullian (at least according to the OED).

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    Communis is listed as a derivative of munus on page 395. It's in the Latin words index in the back. Commented yesterday

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Yes, basically. De Vaan, Etymological Dictionary of Latin p. 395, s.v. munus:

All words are based on two stems, *munos- and *muni- 'function, obligation'. A municeps is one who 'takes an obligation', communis 'who partakes in the duties'. […] Munis can be a back-formation to communis. Probably Lat. munus is based on a thematic noun *moi-no

🎩-tip: Cairnarvon's comment above

However, Ernout & Meillet, Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue latine p. 421, s.v. munis 2° trace it to κοινός ("common").

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  • Re: Ernout and Meillet, no they don't. They say the meaning corresponds to κοινός, contrary to what they see as the unattested original meaning. They list communis under munis because they derive it from it. Commented 13 mins ago

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