commonwealth

views updated

com·mon·wealth / ˈkämənˌwel[unvoicedth]/ • n. 1. an independent country or community, esp. a democratic republic. ∎  an aggregate or grouping of countries or other bodies. ∎  a community or organization of shared interests in a nonpolitical field: the Christian commonwealth. ∎  a self-governing unit voluntarily grouped with the U.S., such as Puerto Rico. ∎  a formal title of some of the states of the U.S., esp. Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. ∎  the title of the federated Australian states. ∎  (the Commonwealth) the republican period of government in Britain between the execution of Charles I in 1649 and the Restoration of Charles II in 1660.2. (the Commonwealth) (in full the Commonwealth of Nations) an international association consisting of the UK together with states that were previously part of the British Empire, and dependencies.3. (the commonwealth) archaic the general good.

More From encyclopedia.com

About this article

commonwealth

Updated About encyclopedia.com content Print Article

Related Content