commonwealth
American Heritage Dictionary:
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com·mon·wealth
(kŏm'ən-wĕlth') 
n.
n.
- The people of a nation or state; the body politic.
- A nation or state governed by the people; a republic.
- Commonwealth
- Used to refer to some U.S. states, namely, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
- Used to refer to a self-governing, autonomous political unit voluntarily associated with the United States, namely, Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands.
- often Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations.
- The English state and government from the death of Charles I in 1649 to the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, including the Protectorate of 1653 to 1659.
- Archaic. The public good; commonweal.
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:
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commonwealth
Body politic founded on law for the common weal, or good. The term was often used by 17th-century writers to signify an organized political community, its meaning thus being similar to the modern meaning of state or nation. Today it primarily refers to the Commonwealth. Four U.S. states (Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia) call themselves commonwealths, a distinction in name only. Puerto Rico has been a commonwealth rather than a state since 1952; its residents, though U.S. citizens, have only a nonvoting representative in Congress and pay no federal taxes.
For more information on commonwealth, visit Britannica.com.
Oxford Dictionary of British History:
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Commonwealth
The Commonwealth took its origins from a vote by the Rump Parliament on 4 January 1649, ‘That the people are, under God, the original of all just power’, and that they, the Commons, possessed supreme authority as the people's representatives. Two days later they set up the High Court of Justice which tried Charles I. The abolition of the monarchy and the House of Lords followed, and another brief Act on 19 May formally declared England to be a Commonwealth. From February, executive authority was vested in a Council of State, accountable to the Rump, elected annually by it, and drawn mainly from its own members.
The Commonwealth expanded to include Scotland and Ireland after the army's conquest of those countries. The Rump's materialist outlook and evident aversion to ‘a godly reformation’ brought it under increasing pressure from the army during 1652 to make way for a successor. Eventually it did introduce a bill for a new parliament to meet in November 1653, but its contents (which do not survive) left the army unsatisfied, and Cromwell in a rage expelled the Rump on 20 April. The brief experiment of a nominated assembly (‘Barebone's Parliament’, July-December 1653) ended in its own abdication, and on 16 December the Commonwealth gave way to the Cromwellian Protectorate. It was briefly restored in May 1659, after a coup by the army against Richard Cromwell, but renewed quarrels between the officers and the Rumpers soon exposed the political bankruptcy of both. General Monck was enthusiastically acclaimed when he opened the way to the Restoration by readmitting the members ‘secluded’ in Pride's Purge on 21 February 1660.
Columbia Encyclopedia:
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Commonwealth
commonwealth, form of administration signifying government by the common consent of the people. To Locke and Hobbes and other 17th-century writers the term meant an organized political community similar to what is meant in the 20th cent. by the word state. Certain states of the United States are known as commonwealths (Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Kentucky), and the federated states of Australia are known collectively as the Commonwealth of Australia. In the same collective sense, the now independent components of the former British Empire and Britain's remaining dependencies are described as the Commonwealth of Nations. The Commonwealth in English history was the government set up by the victorious army power following the English civil war and the execution (1649) of King Charles I. The Commonwealth was dominated from the outset by Oliver Cromwell, who by the Instrument of Government (1653) was made lord protector of the Commonwealth. The subsequent government is usually known as the Protectorate, though the Commonwealth formally continued until Restoration in 1660.
Barron's Law Dictionary:
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commonwealth
The public; the people; a government which concerns itself with the rights of the people rather than the rulers. From “common weal,” a term for the public good. Four of the fifty states (Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia) use “Commonwealth of” rather than “State of.”
Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: History:
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Commonwealth
A government established in Britain and Ireland in 1649, after the execution of King Charles I. It was in the form of a republic, under the leadership of the parliament. Oliver Cromwell soon assumed the supreme power in the Commonwealth and was given the title Lord Protector. After Cromwell's death in 1658, the Commonwealth quickly lost power, and the Restoration of the monarchy followed in 1660.
Devil's Dictionary:
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commonwealth
A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce
n.
An administrative entity operated by an incalculable multitude of political parasites, logically active but fortuitously efficient.
This commonwealth's capitol's corridors view,
So thronged with a hungry and indolent crew
Of clerks, pages, porters and all attaches
Whom rascals appoint and the populace pays
That a cat cannot slip through the thicket of shins
Nor hear its own shriek for the noise of their chins.
On clerks and on pages, and porters, and all,
Misfortune attend and disaster befall!
May life be to them a succession of hurts;
May fleas by the bushel inhabit their shirts;
May aches and diseases encamp in their bones,
Their lungs full of tubercles, bladders of stones;
May microbes, bacilli, their tissues infest,
And tapeworms securely their bowels digest;
May corn-cobs be snared without hope in their hair,
And frequent impalement their pleasure impair.
Disturbed be their dreams by the awful discourse
Of audible sofas sepulchrally hoarse,
By chairs acrobatic and wavering floors --
The mattress that kicks and the pillow that snores!
Sons of cupidity, cradled in sin!
Your criminal ranks may the death angel thin,
Avenging the friend whom I couldn't work in.
K.Q.
Word Tutor:
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commonwealth
IN BRIEF: The citizens of a nation or state.
The new laws were a benefit for the entire commonwealth.
LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!
Random House Word Menu:
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categories related to 'commonwealth'
- Forms, Systems, and Philosophies - commonwealth: government in which ultimate authority lies with people
- Governmental Bodies and Institutions - commonwealth: federation of nations; official designation of four U.S. states: Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia
Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary:
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commonwealth
See crossword solutions for the clue Commonwealth.
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Commonwealth
This article is about Commonwealth the term. For the Commonwealth of Nations often referred to as simply the Commonwealth, see Commonwealth of Nations. For other uses, see Commonwealth (disambiguation).
Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic".
More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations. Most notably, the Commonwealth of Nations, an association primarily of former members of the British Empire, is often referred to as simply "the Commonwealth".
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Etymology
The English noun commonwealth in the sense meaning "public welfare; general good or advantage" dates from the 15th century.[1] The original phrase "the common-wealth" or "the common weal" (echoed in the modern synonym "public weal") comes from the old meaning of "wealth," which is "well-being", and is itself a loose translation of the Latin res publica (republic). The term literally meant "common well-being." In the 17th century the definition of "commonwealth" expanded from its original sense of "public welfare" or "commonweal" to mean "a state in which the supreme power is vested in the people; a republic or democratic state."[2]
Historic usage
Iceland
The Icelandic Commonwealth or the Icelandic Free State (Icelandic: Þjóðveldið) was the state existing in Iceland between the establishment of the Althing in 930 and the pledge of fealty to the Norwegian king in 1262. It was initially established by a public consisting largely of recent immigrants from Norway who had fled the unification of that country under King Harald Fairhair.
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Main article: Rzeczpospolita
Republic is still an alternative translation of the traditional name of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Wincenty Kadłubek (Vincent Kadlubo, 1160–1223) used for the first time the original Latin term res publica in the context of Poland in his "Chronicles of the Kings and Princes of Poland." The name was used officially for the confederal country formed by Poland and Lithuania 1569–1795.
It is also often referred as "Nobles' Commonwealth" (1505–1795, i.e. before the union). In contemporary political doctrine of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, "our state is a Republic (Commonwealth) under presidency of the King." The commonwealth introduced a doctrine of religious tolerance (see Warsaw Confederation), had its own parliament Sejm (although elections were restricted to the gentry or szlachta) and elected kings, who were bound to certain contracts Pacta conventa from the beginning of the reign. The foundation stones of the Commonwealth (also called the Golden Freedoms) used to be
- free election of the king
- Pacta conventa, a binding pledge agreed to by the King on his election
- rokosz, the right of rebellion against kings who did not rule in accordance with their pledge
- liberum veto (a later development), the right for a single representative to veto the entire proceedings of the Sejm
- confœderatio (confederation), a military organisation of the citizens for the attainment of common political aims.
"A commonwealth of good counsaile" was the title of the 1607 English translation of the work of Wawrzyniec Grzymała Goślicki "De optimo senatore" that presented to English readers many of the ideas present in the political system of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Britain
The Commonwealth of England was the official name of the political unit (de facto military rule in the name of parliamentary supremacy) that replaced the kingdoms of Scotland and England (after the English Civil War) from 1649 to 1653 and 1659 to 1660. Under the rule of Oliver Cromwell and his son and successor Richard. From 1653 to 1659, although still legally known as a Commonwealth, the republic operated under different institutions (at times as a de facto monarchy) and is known by historians as the Protectorate. The Commonwealth of England formed the first republic in the English-speaking world. In a British context, it is sometimes referred to as the "Old Commonwealth."
Labour MP Tony Benn introduced a Commonwealth of Britain Bill several times between 1991 and 2001, intended to abolish the monarchy and establish a British republic. It never reached second reading.
National
Australia
The term also served when six Australian colonies federated to form the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act created a federal system, in which power is divided between the federal, or national, government and the States—the evolved status of the colonies. The Constitution stipulated that Australia was a constitutional monarchy, where the Head of State is the British (or, since 1942, Australian) monarch, who is represented at the federal level by a Governor-General, and at the state level by six Governors, one for each state. The Parliament of Australia was derived from the British and American systems to form a uniquely Australian system. It is largely based on the British Westminster System, adopting many of its practices and precedents, but with a similar structure—House of Representatives, and Senate—to the U.S. Congress. In an Australian context, the term "Commonwealth" (capitalised) thus refers to the federal government and "Commonwealth of Australia" is the official name of the country.
Dominica
The small Caribbean republic of Dominica has used the official style Commonwealth of Dominica since 1970.
The Bahamas
The Bahamas, a Commonwealth realm, uses the official style Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
United States
U.S. states
Main article: Commonwealth (U.S. state)
Four states in the United States officially designate themselves as "commonwealths". All four were original colonies (Kentucky was originally a part of the land grant of the Colony of Virginia) and share a strong influence of colonial common law in some of their laws and institutions. The four are:
- Kentucky is designated a Commonwealth by the Kentucky Constitution and is known constitutionally as the "Commonwealth of Kentucky".[3]
- Massachusetts is a Commonwealth,[4] declaring itself as such in its constitution, which states that "The body politic is formed by a voluntary association of individuals: it is a social compact, by which the whole people covenants with each citizen, and each citizen with the whole people, that all shall be governed by certain laws for the common good."[5]
- Pennsylvania uses the "Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" constitutionally and in its official title.[6]
- Virginia has been known as the "Commonwealth of Virginia" since before joining the United States, and is referred to as a Commonwealth in its consitution.[7]
U.S. insular areas
Main article: Commonwealth (U.S. insular area)
"Commonwealth" is also used in the U.S. to describe the political relationship between the United States and the overseas unincorporated territories:
- Commonwealth of the Philippines — formed in 1934, and became independent in 1946.
- Commonwealth of Puerto Rico — became a commonwealth[8] in 1952.
- Northern Mariana Islands — became a commonwealth in 1978.
International
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations—formerly the "British Commonwealth"—is a voluntary association of 54 independent sovereign states, most of which are former British colonies, or dependencies of these colonies with three exceptions, Mozambique (which was a Portuguese possession), Rwanda (which was a Belgian mandate) and Cameroon[9] (which is a union of a French mandate and a British mandate) plus the United Kingdom itself. The Commonwealth's membership includes both republics and monarchies. The head of the Commonwealth of Nations is Queen Elizabeth II. She also reigns as monarch directly in a number of states, known as Commonwealth realms, notably the United Kingdom, Australia, Barbados, Canada, Jamaica, and New Zealand. The Commonwealth of Nations is sometimes referred to as the New Commonwealth in a British context.
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a loose alliance or confederation consisting of 10 of the 15 former Soviet Republics, the exceptions being Turkmenistan (a CIS associate member), Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Georgia. Georgia left the CIS in August 2008 after a clash with Russia over South Ossetia. Its creation signaled the dissolution of the Soviet Union, its purpose being to "allow a civilized divorce" between the Soviet Republics. The CIS has developed as a forum by which the member-states can co-operate in economics, defense and foreign policy.
See also
References
- ^ "Commonwealth", Oxford English Dictionary (dictionary.oed.com), 1989, 2nd ed., http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50045157?query_type=word&queryword=commonwealth&first=1&max_to_show=10&sort_type=alpha&result_place=1&search_id=Hr0v-iyV0EE-153&hilite=50045157, retrieved 13 March 2010
- ^ "Better things were done, and better managed ... under a Commonwealth than under a King." Pepys, Diary (1667) "Commonwealth", Oxford English Dictionary (dictionary.oed.com), 1989, 2nd ed., http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50045157?query_type=word&queryword=commonwealth&first=1&max_to_show=10&sort_type=alpha&result_place=1&search_id=Hr0v-iyV0EE-153&hilite=50045157, retrieved 13 March 2010
- ^ http://kentucky.gov
- ^ http://www.mass.gov
- ^ http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/Constitution#cp00s00.htm
- ^ http://www.pa.gov
- ^ http://www.virginia.gov
- ^ http://welcome.topuertorico.org/government.shtml: copyright 2009
- ^ http://www.thecommonwealth.org/YearbookInternal/145151/history/
External links
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Look up Commonwealth or commonwealth in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
- Commonwealth of Nations
- The Commonwealth — UK government site
- Commonwealth of Nations Secretariat*
- Commonwealth Foundation
- Royal Commonwealth Society
- Commonwealth of Independent States
- Countries
- United States of America
- Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Translations:
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Commonwealth
Dansk (Danish)
n. - stat, samfund, republik
Nederlands (Dutch)
gemenebest, (democratische) republiek, staat (bijv. in V.S.), groep met gemeenschappelijk belang (niet politiek)
Français (French)
n. - Commonwealth
Deutsch (German)
n. - Staat, Commonwealth
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - κοινοπολιτεία, (μτφ.) τομέας, σφαίρα
Italiano (Italian)
confederazione
Português (Portuguese)
n. - comunidade (f)
Русский (Russian)
государство, содружество
Español (Spanish)
n. - república, democracia, estado, bien público
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - samvälde, republik, fritt samhälle
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
国民整体, 联邦, 共和国
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 國民整體, 聯邦, 共和國
한국어 (Korean)
n. - 극민, 공화국, 연방, 단체
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 国民, 国家, 共和国, 州, 団体, 連邦
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) رابطه, مجموعه مستقله
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - מדינה, קהילייה, מדינה או קהילה עצמאית, בד"כ דמוקרטית, ארגון לא-פוליטי של בעלי עניין משותף
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American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 1994-2012 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
Oxford Dictionary of British History
A Dictionary of British History. Copyright © 2001, 2004 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
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Columbia Encyclopedia
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.
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Barron's Law Dictionary
Law Dictionary. Copyright © 2003 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: History
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and
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