commonwealth

/ˌkɑmənˈwɛlθ/

Other forms: commonwealths

A commonwealth refers to any group of people organized under a single government, particularly a republic. If you live in the United States of America, you live in a commonwealth.

Comprised of the roots common, meaning "belonging to all," and wealth, meaning "happiness or riches," the word commonwealth originally referred to the government of England from 1649 to 1660. Nowadays, a commonwealth has come to mean any government in which all people involved have a say, or a loose formation of nations with a shared loyalty. It is also the official designation of a few states including, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia and some U.S. territories.

Definitions of commonwealth

1. noun

   a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them
   synonyms: democracy, republic

   types:

   Weimar Republic

   the German republic founded at Weimar in 1919

   parliamentary democracy

   a democracy having a parliament

   type of:

   form of government, political system

   the members of a social organization who are in power
2. noun

   a politically organized body of people under a single government
   synonyms: body politic, country, land, nation, res publica, state

   examples:

   Tamil Eelam

   the independent state that the Tamil Tigers have fought for

   types:

   commonwealth country

   any of the countries in the British Commonwealth

   developing country

   a country that is poor and whose citizens are mostly agricultural workers but that wants to become more advanced socially and economically

   Dominion

   one of the self-governing nations in the British Commonwealth

   foreign country

   any state of which one is not a citizen

   Reich

   the German state

   renegade state, rogue nation, rogue state

   a state that does not respect other states in its international actions

   suzerain

   a state exercising a degree of dominion over a dependent state especially in its foreign affairs

   sea power

   a nation that possesses formidable naval strength

   great power, major power, power, superpower, world power

   a state powerful enough to influence events throughout the world

   city state, city-state

   a state consisting of a sovereign city

   ally

   a friendly nation

   Hohenzollern empire, Second Reich

   the Reich when Hohenzollern monarchs ruled Germany (from 1871 to 1919)

   Nazi Germany, Third Reich

   the Nazi dictatorship under Hitler (1933-1945)

   hegemon

   a leading or paramount power

   type of:

   political entity, political unit

   a unit with political responsibilities
3. noun

   a world organization of autonomous states that are united in allegiance to a central power but are not subordinate to it or to one another
   types:

   British Commonwealth, Commonwealth of Nations

   an association of nations consisting of the United Kingdom and several former British colonies that are now sovereign states but still pay allegiance to the British Crown

   type of:

   global organization, international organisation, international organization, world organisation, world organization

   an international alliance involving many different countries
4. noun

   the official name of some states in the United States (Massachusetts and Pennsylvania and Virginia and Kentucky) and associated territories (Puerto Rico)
   examples:

   Commonwealth of Puerto Rico

   a self-governing commonwealth associated with the United States occupying the island of Puerto Rico

   type of:

   province, state

   the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation