Commune \Com"mune\, n. [F., fr. commun. See Common.]

1. The commonalty; the common people. [Obs.]

--Chaucer.

In this struggle -- to use the technical words of the time -- of the ``commune'', the general mass of the inhabitants, against the ``prudhommes'' or ``wiser'' few. --J. R. Green.

2. A small territorial district in France under the government of a mayor and municipal council; also, the inhabitants, or the government, of such a district. See Arrondissement.

3. Absolute municipal self-government.

The Commune of Paris, or The Commune
   (a) The government established in Paris (1792-94) by a usurpation of supreme power on the part of representatives chosen by the communes; the period of its continuance is known as the ``Reign of Terror.''
   (b) The revolutionary government, modeled on the commune of 1792, which the communists, so called, attempted to establish in 1871.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)