Plural of commune: small communities where people live together and share property, or in France, the smallest administrative divisions like towns.
From Latin 'communis' (common). The French administrative sense dates to 1789 during the Revolution when local government units were reorganized.
France has about 36,000 communes—more local government divisions than any other European country—which is why French politics feels so locally rooted compared to other nations.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.