Adjacent Words

Republic definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

REPUB'LIC, n. [L. respublica; res and publica; public affairs.]
1. A commonwealth; a state in which the exercise of the sovereign power is lodged in representatives elected by the people. In modern usage, it differs from a democracy or democratic state, in which the people exercise the powers of sovereignty in person. Yet the democracies of Greece are often called republics.
2. Common interest; the public. [Not in use.]
Republic of letters, the collective body of learned men.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them [syn: democracy, republic, commonwealth]
2: a form of government whose head of state is not a monarch; "the head of state in a republic is usually a president"

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: French république, from Middle French republique, from Latin respublica, from res thing, wealth + publica, feminine of publicus public — more at real, public Date: 1604 1. a. (1) a government having a chief of state who is not a monarch and who in modern times is usually a president (2) a political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government b. (1) a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law (2) a political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government c. a usually specified republican government of a political unit <the French Fourth Republic> 2. a body of persons freely engaged in a specified activity <the republic of letters> 3. a constituent political and territorial unit of the former nations of Czechoslovakia, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or Yugoslavia

Britannica Concise

Form of government in which the leader is periodically appointed under a constitution. It was originally contrasted with governments in which leadership was hereditary, but is now understood to mean a state ruled by representatives elected by its populace, all of which is enfranchised. Republics may also be distinguished from direct democracies, but representative democracies are by and large republics.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a State in which supreme power is held by the people or their elected representatives or by an elected or nominated president, not by a monarch etc. 2 a society with equality between its members (the literary republic). Phrases and idioms: Republic Day the day on which the foundation of a republic is commemorated; in India 26 January. Etymology: F république f. L respublica f. res concern + publicus PUBLIC

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Republic Re*pub"lic (r?-p?b"l?k), n. [F. r['e]publique, L. respublica commonwealth; res a thing, an affair + publicus, publica, public. See Real, a., and Public.] 1. Common weal. [Obs.] --B. Jonson. 2. A state in which the sovereign power resides in the whole body of the people, and is exercised by representatives elected by them; a commonwealth. Cf. Democracy, 2. Note: In some ancient states called republics the sovereign power was exercised by an hereditary aristocracy or a privileged few, constituting a government now distinctively called an aristocracy. In some there was a division of authority between an aristocracy and the whole body of the people except slaves. No existing republic recognizes an exclusive privilege of any class to govern, or tolerates the institution of slavery. Republic of letters, The collective body of literary or learned men.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(republics) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. A republic is a country where power is held by the people or the representatives that they elect. Republics have presidents who are elected, rather than kings or queens. ...the Baltic republics. ...the Republic of Ireland. N-COUNT: oft in names see also banana republic

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Commonwealth, democracy, popular government, representative government.

Moby Thesaurus

absolute monarchy, ally, archduchy, archdukedom, aristocracy, autarchy, autocracy, autonomy, body politic, buffer state, captive nation, chieftaincy, chieftainry, city-state, coalition government, colonialism, colony, commonweal, commonwealth, constitutional government, constitutional monarchy, country, county, democracy, dictatorship, domain, dominion, dominion rule, duarchy, duchy, dukedom, duumvirate, dyarchy, earldom, empery, empire, federal government, federation, feudal system, free city, garrison state, gerontocracy, grand duchy, heteronomy, hierarchy, hierocracy, home rule, kingdom, land, limited monarchy, mandant, mandate, mandated territory, mandatee, mandatory, martial law, meritocracy, militarism, military government, mob rule, mobocracy, monarchy, nation, nationality, neocolonialism, ochlocracy, oligarchy, pantisocracy, patriarchate, patriarchy, police state, polis, polity, possession, power, principality, principate, protectorate, province, puppet government, puppet regime, pure democracy, realm, regency, representative democracy, representative government, satellite, self-determination, self-government, seneschalty, settlement, social democracy, sovereign nation, state, stratocracy, sultanate, superpower, technocracy, territory, thearchy, theocracy, toparchia, toparchy, totalitarian government, totalitarian regime, triarchy, triumvirate, tyranny, welfare state