commonwealth
nounattested in dialogue
- United Kingdom//ˈkɒmənˌwɛlθ//
- Canada//ˈkɑmənˌwɛlθ//
- Australia//ˈkɔmənˌwɛlθ//
- New Zealand//ˈkɒmənˌwelθ//
The entirety of a (secular) society, a polity, a state.
noun
- 1
obsoleteThe well-being of a community.
- 2
The entirety of a (secular) society, a polity, a state.
Remeber I saye yt ye were at that tyme wt oute Christ and were reputed aliantes from the comen welth [πολιτεία (politeía)] of Israel and were straugers fro the testamentes of promes and had no hope and were with out god in this worlde.
I'th' commonwealth I would by contraries Execute all things, for no kind of traffic Would I admit; no name of magistrate[…]
- 3
Republic. Often capitalized, as Commonwealth.
Etymology
From common (“public”) + wealth (“well-being”). From c. 1450 as common wele (commonweal). In the form common-wealth (common welthe) from c. 1520, used by Tyndale in the sense "secular society" in particular, for which other authors preferred publike weal. Also from the 1520s treated as a synonym or loan-translation of res publica (republic) (Rollison 2017:67f).
Forms
- plural
- commonwealths
commonwealth · The entirety of a (secular) society, a polity, a state.
Commonwealth · The Commonwealth of Nations, a loose confederation of nations…commotion · A state of turbulent motion.communal · Pertaining to a community or a commune.