Was the word “communist” used prior to Marxist/Leninist writings?
The word 'communism' and 'communist' were certainly popularized by the title of 'The Communist Manifesto' by Mark and Engels.
But was the word 'communist' used prior to Marxist writings? Or was it coined for use in the Communist Manifesto?
etymology history
edited 11 hours ago
Mitch
50.3k15101211
asked 12 hours ago
Linda K. Kramer
292
New contributor
Linda K. Kramer is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
The word 'communism' and 'communist' were certainly popularized by the title of 'The Communist Manifesto' by Mark and Engels.
But was the word 'communist' used prior to Marxist writings? Or was it coined for use in the Communist Manifesto?
etymology history
edited 11 hours ago
Mitch
50.3k15101211
asked 12 hours ago
Linda K. Kramer
292
New contributor
Linda K. Kramer is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
5
It's Lenin, not Lennon. For crying out loud.
– michael.hor257k
11 hours ago
@michael.hor257k Similarly, it's Marx, not Mark.
– Ray
6 hours ago
Well, at least Spencer got out of this.
– michael.hor257k
6 hours ago
Coincidentally, Marx and Spencer are buried in the same cemetery in London. ;) Not to be confused with Marks and Spencer...
– Quuxplusone
3 hours ago
add a comment |
The word 'communism' and 'communist' were certainly popularized by the title of 'The Communist Manifesto' by Mark and Engels.
But was the word 'communist' used prior to Marxist writings? Or was it coined for use in the Communist Manifesto?
etymology history
edited 11 hours ago
Mitch
50.3k15101211
asked 12 hours ago
Linda K. Kramer
292
New contributor
Linda K. Kramer is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
The word 'communism' and 'communist' were certainly popularized by the title of 'The Communist Manifesto' by Mark and Engels.
But was the word 'communist' used prior to Marxist writings? Or was it coined for use in the Communist Manifesto?
etymology history
etymology history
edited 11 hours ago
Mitch
50.3k15101211
asked 12 hours ago
Linda K. Kramer
292
New contributor
Linda K. Kramer is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 11 hours ago
Mitch
50.3k15101211
asked 12 hours ago
Linda K. Kramer
292
New contributor
Linda K. Kramer is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 11 hours ago
Mitch
50.3k15101211
edited 11 hours ago
Mitch
50.3k15101211
edited 11 hours ago
Mitch
50.3k15101211
50.3k15101211
asked 12 hours ago
Linda K. Kramer
292
New contributor
Linda K. Kramer is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 12 hours ago
Linda K. Kramer
292
asked 12 hours ago
Linda K. Kramer
292
292
New contributor
Linda K. Kramer is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Linda K. Kramer is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Linda K. Kramer is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
5
It's Lenin, not Lennon. For crying out loud.
– michael.hor257k
11 hours ago
@michael.hor257k Similarly, it's Marx, not Mark.
– Ray
6 hours ago
Well, at least Spencer got out of this.
– michael.hor257k
6 hours ago
Coincidentally, Marx and Spencer are buried in the same cemetery in London. ;) Not to be confused with Marks and Spencer...
– Quuxplusone
3 hours ago
add a comment |
5
It's Lenin, not Lennon. For crying out loud.
– michael.hor257k
11 hours ago
@michael.hor257k Similarly, it's Marx, not Mark.
– Ray
6 hours ago
Well, at least Spencer got out of this.
– michael.hor257k
6 hours ago
Coincidentally, Marx and Spencer are buried in the same cemetery in London. ;) Not to be confused with Marks and Spencer...
– Quuxplusone
3 hours ago
5
5
It's Lenin, not Lennon. For crying out loud.
– michael.hor257k
11 hours ago
It's Lenin, not Lennon. For crying out loud.
– michael.hor257k
11 hours ago
@michael.hor257k Similarly, it's Marx, not Mark.
– Ray
6 hours ago
@michael.hor257k Similarly, it's Marx, not Mark.
– Ray
6 hours ago
Well, at least Spencer got out of this.
– michael.hor257k
6 hours ago
Well, at least Spencer got out of this.
– michael.hor257k
6 hours ago
Coincidentally, Marx and Spencer are buried in the same cemetery in London. ;) Not to be confused with Marks and Spencer...
– Quuxplusone
3 hours ago
Coincidentally, Marx and Spencer are buried in the same cemetery in London. ;) Not to be confused with Marks and Spencer...
– Quuxplusone
3 hours ago
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
The word was used in English in 1840 according to the OED, which I believe narrowly beats out Marx’s writings:
Noun:
The Communists have their meetings, and the Radical Reformers, who do not go the length of an agrarian law, dine together in numbers.
1840 Morning Chron. 13 July 2/7
Adjective:
A social banquet of the adherents of the Communist, or Communitarian school is expected to take place.
1840 J. G. Barmby in New Moral World 1 Aug. 75/1
Communism:
A man named Dufraisse..concluded with an exposition of the doctrines of Communism..much the same as what Mr. Owen preaches in England, under the name of Socialism.
1840 N.-Y. Spectator 22 Aug. 2/1
Both communist and communism in this sense come from French.
answered 12 hours ago
Laurel
31.2k660111
add a comment |
communism ~ 1843 and communist ~ 1841
Etymology and 1st Usages:
communism (n.)
1843, "social system based on collective ownership," from French
communisme (c. 1840), from commun (Old French comun "common, general,
free, open, public;" see common (adj.)) + -isme (see -ism).
Originally a description of a society, by the early 20c. it was a general a term of abuse for revolutionaries, implying anti-social criminality without regard to political theory. The full etymology in in the citation.
The noun communist now has the following definition: TFD
a. A member of a movement or political party that advocates Communism.
b. A supporter of such a party or movement.
2. A Communard.
3. often communist A radical viewed as a subversive or revolutionary.
So to answer your question:
But was the word 'communist' used prior to Marxist writings? Or was it
coined for use in the Communist Manifesto?
The were very closely co-located in time. It appears the word was incorporated into the English corpus (~ 1841) just prior to the Communist Manifesto (1850).
answered 12 hours ago
lbf
17.7k21864
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "97"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Linda K. Kramer is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f479302%2fwas-the-word-communist-used-prior-to-marxist-leninist-writings%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
The word was used in English in 1840 according to the OED, which I believe narrowly beats out Marx’s writings:
Noun:
The Communists have their meetings, and the Radical Reformers, who do not go the length of an agrarian law, dine together in numbers.
1840 Morning Chron. 13 July 2/7
Adjective:
A social banquet of the adherents of the Communist, or Communitarian school is expected to take place.
1840 J. G. Barmby in New Moral World 1 Aug. 75/1
Communism:
A man named Dufraisse..concluded with an exposition of the doctrines of Communism..much the same as what Mr. Owen preaches in England, under the name of Socialism.
1840 N.-Y. Spectator 22 Aug. 2/1
Both communist and communism in this sense come from French.
answered 12 hours ago
Laurel
31.2k660111
add a comment |
The word was used in English in 1840 according to the OED, which I believe narrowly beats out Marx’s writings:
Noun:
The Communists have their meetings, and the Radical Reformers, who do not go the length of an agrarian law, dine together in numbers.
1840 Morning Chron. 13 July 2/7
Adjective:
A social banquet of the adherents of the Communist, or Communitarian school is expected to take place.
1840 J. G. Barmby in New Moral World 1 Aug. 75/1
Communism:
A man named Dufraisse..concluded with an exposition of the doctrines of Communism..much the same as what Mr. Owen preaches in England, under the name of Socialism.
1840 N.-Y. Spectator 22 Aug. 2/1
Both communist and communism in this sense come from French.
answered 12 hours ago
Laurel
31.2k660111
add a comment |
The word was used in English in 1840 according to the OED, which I believe narrowly beats out Marx’s writings:
Noun:
The Communists have their meetings, and the Radical Reformers, who do not go the length of an agrarian law, dine together in numbers.
1840 Morning Chron. 13 July 2/7
Adjective:
A social banquet of the adherents of the Communist, or Communitarian school is expected to take place.
1840 J. G. Barmby in New Moral World 1 Aug. 75/1
Communism:
A man named Dufraisse..concluded with an exposition of the doctrines of Communism..much the same as what Mr. Owen preaches in England, under the name of Socialism.
1840 N.-Y. Spectator 22 Aug. 2/1
Both communist and communism in this sense come from French.
answered 12 hours ago
Laurel
31.2k660111
The word was used in English in 1840 according to the OED, which I believe narrowly beats out Marx’s writings:
Noun:
The Communists have their meetings, and the Radical Reformers, who do not go the length of an agrarian law, dine together in numbers.
1840 Morning Chron. 13 July 2/7
Adjective:
A social banquet of the adherents of the Communist, or Communitarian school is expected to take place.
1840 J. G. Barmby in New Moral World 1 Aug. 75/1
Communism:
A man named Dufraisse..concluded with an exposition of the doctrines of Communism..much the same as what Mr. Owen preaches in England, under the name of Socialism.
1840 N.-Y. Spectator 22 Aug. 2/1
Both communist and communism in this sense come from French.
answered 12 hours ago
Laurel
31.2k660111
answered 12 hours ago
Laurel
31.2k660111
answered 12 hours ago
Laurel
31.2k660111
answered 12 hours ago
Laurel
31.2k660111
31.2k660111
add a comment |
add a comment |
communism ~ 1843 and communist ~ 1841
Etymology and 1st Usages:
communism (n.)
1843, "social system based on collective ownership," from French
communisme (c. 1840), from commun (Old French comun "common, general,
free, open, public;" see common (adj.)) + -isme (see -ism).
Originally a description of a society, by the early 20c. it was a general a term of abuse for revolutionaries, implying anti-social criminality without regard to political theory. The full etymology in in the citation.
The noun communist now has the following definition: TFD
a. A member of a movement or political party that advocates Communism.
b. A supporter of such a party or movement.
2. A Communard.
3. often communist A radical viewed as a subversive or revolutionary.
So to answer your question:
But was the word 'communist' used prior to Marxist writings? Or was it
coined for use in the Communist Manifesto?
The were very closely co-located in time. It appears the word was incorporated into the English corpus (~ 1841) just prior to the Communist Manifesto (1850).
answered 12 hours ago
lbf
17.7k21864
add a comment |
communism ~ 1843 and communist ~ 1841
Etymology and 1st Usages:
communism (n.)
1843, "social system based on collective ownership," from French
communisme (c. 1840), from commun (Old French comun "common, general,
free, open, public;" see common (adj.)) + -isme (see -ism).
Originally a description of a society, by the early 20c. it was a general a term of abuse for revolutionaries, implying anti-social criminality without regard to political theory. The full etymology in in the citation.
The noun communist now has the following definition: TFD
a. A member of a movement or political party that advocates Communism.
b. A supporter of such a party or movement.
2. A Communard.
3. often communist A radical viewed as a subversive or revolutionary.
So to answer your question:
But was the word 'communist' used prior to Marxist writings? Or was it
coined for use in the Communist Manifesto?
The were very closely co-located in time. It appears the word was incorporated into the English corpus (~ 1841) just prior to the Communist Manifesto (1850).
answered 12 hours ago
lbf
17.7k21864
add a comment |
communism ~ 1843 and communist ~ 1841
Etymology and 1st Usages:
communism (n.)
1843, "social system based on collective ownership," from French
communisme (c. 1840), from commun (Old French comun "common, general,
free, open, public;" see common (adj.)) + -isme (see -ism).
Originally a description of a society, by the early 20c. it was a general a term of abuse for revolutionaries, implying anti-social criminality without regard to political theory. The full etymology in in the citation.
The noun communist now has the following definition: TFD
a. A member of a movement or political party that advocates Communism.
b. A supporter of such a party or movement.
2. A Communard.
3. often communist A radical viewed as a subversive or revolutionary.
So to answer your question:
But was the word 'communist' used prior to Marxist writings? Or was it
coined for use in the Communist Manifesto?
The were very closely co-located in time. It appears the word was incorporated into the English corpus (~ 1841) just prior to the Communist Manifesto (1850).
answered 12 hours ago
lbf
17.7k21864
communism ~ 1843 and communist ~ 1841
Etymology and 1st Usages:
communism (n.)
1843, "social system based on collective ownership," from French
communisme (c. 1840), from commun (Old French comun "common, general,
free, open, public;" see common (adj.)) + -isme (see -ism).
Originally a description of a society, by the early 20c. it was a general a term of abuse for revolutionaries, implying anti-social criminality without regard to political theory. The full etymology in in the citation.
The noun communist now has the following definition: TFD
a. A member of a movement or political party that advocates Communism.
b. A supporter of such a party or movement.
2. A Communard.
3. often communist A radical viewed as a subversive or revolutionary.
So to answer your question:
But was the word 'communist' used prior to Marxist writings? Or was it
coined for use in the Communist Manifesto?
The were very closely co-located in time. It appears the word was incorporated into the English corpus (~ 1841) just prior to the Communist Manifesto (1850).
answered 12 hours ago
lbf
17.7k21864
edited 10 hours ago
answered 12 hours ago
lbf
17.7k21864
answered 12 hours ago
lbf
17.7k21864
answered 12 hours ago
lbf
17.7k21864
17.7k21864
add a comment |
add a comment |
Linda K. Kramer is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Linda K. Kramer is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Linda K. Kramer is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Linda K. Kramer is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language & Usage Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Some of your past answers have not been well-received, and you're in danger of being blocked from answering.
Please pay close attention to the following guidance:
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f479302%2fwas-the-word-communist-used-prior-to-marxist-leninist-writings%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
5
It's Lenin, not Lennon. For crying out loud.
– michael.hor257k
11 hours ago
@michael.hor257k Similarly, it's Marx, not Mark.
– Ray
6 hours ago
Well, at least Spencer got out of this.
– michael.hor257k
6 hours ago
Coincidentally, Marx and Spencer are buried in the same cemetery in London. ;) Not to be confused with Marks and Spencer...
– Quuxplusone
3 hours ago