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Commonwealth - Dictionary Definition and Overview |
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Commonwealth : (noun)
1: the official name of some states in the United States
(Massachusetts and Pennsylvania and Virginia and
Kentucky) and associated territories (Puerto Rico)
2: a politically organized body of people under a single
government; "the state has elected a new president";
"African nations"; "students who had come to the nation's
capitol"; "the country's largest manufacturer"; "an
industrialized land" [syn: state, nation, country, land,
res publica, body politic]
3: a world organization of autonomous states that are united in
allegiance to a central power but are not subordinate to
it or to one another
4: a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body
of citizens who can elect people to represent them [syn: democracy,
republic] [ant: autocracy]
Based on WordNet 2.0
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Commonwealth : \Com"mon*wealth`\ (?; 277), n. [Common _ wealth
well-being.]
1. A state; a body politic consisting of a certain number of
men, united, by compact or tacit agreement, under one form
of government and system of laws.
The trappings of a monarchy would set up an ordinary
commonwealth. --Milton.
Note: This term is applied to governments which are
considered as free or popular, but rarely, or
improperly, to an absolute government. The word
signifies, strictly, the common well-being or
happiness; and hence, a form of government in which the
general welfare is regarded rather than the welfare of
any class.
2. The whole body of people in a state; the public.
3. (Eng. Hist.) Specifically, the form of government
established on the death of Charles I., in 1649, which
existed under Oliver Cromwell and his son Richard, ending
with the abdication of the latter in 1659.
Syn: State; realm; republic.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
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COMMONWEALTH, government. ACommonwealth : is properly a free state, or
republic, having a popular or representative government. The term has been,
applied to the government of Great Britain. It is not applicable to absolute
governments. The states composing the United States are, properly, so many
commonwealths.
2. It is a settled principle, that no sovereign power is amenable to
answer suits, either in its own courts or in those of a foreign country,
unless by its own consent. 4 Yeates, 494.
Based on Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [Bouvier_Law_Dictionary]:
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Commonwealth, VA (CDP, FIPS 18792)
Location: 38.07462 N, 78.48746 W
Population (1990): 5538 (2584 housing units)
Area: 3.1 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Based on Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [Bouvier_Law_Dictionary]:
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Example Usage of Commonwealth |
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astrosteve: Well, we're technically a Commonwealth not a state, but whatever. |
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asim7asim: Rare praise from Commonwealth Games Federation president http://bit.ly/5KjuZz |
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Lilleth71: Mystery hospital may be Commonwealth Medical College in PA>>Deep in Health Bill, Very Specific Beneficiaries - NYTimes http://bit.ly/64GZTl |
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