commonwealth

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commonwealth^¹

/ˈkɒmənˌwelθ/ UK
/ˈkɔmənˌwɛlθ/ British, Scotland, Southern
/ˈkɒmənˌwɛlθ/ Northern England, UK, Wales
/ˈkɔmənˌwɛlf/ UK
/ˈkɒmənˌwɛlf/ UK
/ˈkɑmənˌwɛlθ/ Canada, US
/ˈkɔmənˌwelθ/ Australia
/ˈkɒmənˌwelθ/ New Zealand

Where it comes from

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).

noun commonwealths · common-wealth

obsolete The well-being of a community.
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.
Republic. Often capitalized, as Commonwealth. 1649, Act of the Long Parliament Be it declared and enacted by this present Parliament and by the Authoritie of the same That the People of England and of all the Dominions and Territoryes thereunto belonging are and shall be and are hereby constituted, made, established, and confirmed to be a Commo

Commonwealth^²

/ˈkɒmənˌwɛlθ/ UK
[ˈkɒmənˌwelθ] UK, dated
[ˈkɔːmənˌwelθ]
/ˈkɑmənˌwɛlθ/ US

proper noun the Commonwealth

The Commonwealth of Nations, a loose confederation of nations based around the former British Empire. Mozambique joined the Commonwealth in 1995, although it had not been a part of the British Empire.
UK, historical The Commonwealth of England (1649–1653); the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland (1653–1660). Near-synonyms: Protectorate; Interregnum
Similar: Protectorate, Interregnum
Australia Australia, the Commonwealth of Australia, often referring to its federal government. Mr. Martin was found guilty of defrauding the Commonwealth by making false welfare claims.
in Kentucky Kentucky, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, often referring to its government.
in Massachusetts Massachusetts, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, often referring to its government.
in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, often referring to its government.
in Virginia Virginia, the Commonwealth of Virginia, often referring to its government.

proper noun

A barangay of Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines.
A barangay of Rosario, Northern Samar, Philippines.
A barangay of Aurora, Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: res publica, body politic, nation, republic, democracy, country, state, land, community, league, federative, federal, federation, confederation, collegiality, association

Translations

Every language

noun form of government

Español	comunidad, mancomunidad, estado libre asociado
日本語	連邦 renpō, コモンウェルス komonwerusu
中文	聯邦 /联邦 liánbāng
हिन्दी	राष्ट्रमंडल rāṣṭramaṇḍal
Português	comunidade
Français	communauté, richesse commune, commonwealth
Deutsch	Staatenbund
Ελληνικά	κοινοπολιτεία koinopoliteía
Русский	сою́з sojúz
Tiếng Việt	thịnh vượng chung
العربية	كُومُنْوِلْث kumunwilṯ
עברית	קהילייה qehilia

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MLA

"commonwealth." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/commonwealth. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

commonwealth. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/commonwealth

Chicago

"commonwealth." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/commonwealth.

BibTeX

@misc{commonwealth_2026,
  title = {commonwealth},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/commonwealth},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}