commonwealthn.
/ˈkɒmənwɛlθ/, U.S. /ˈkɑmənˌwɛlθ/ (in sense 2 also)Brit. /ˌkɒmənˈwɛlθ/, U.S. /ˌkɑmənˈwɛlθ/ 1.
a. The people of a nation, state, etc., as a whole; a state, nation, or independent community, esp. viewed as an entity in which the whole population has a voice or interest. Cf. commonweal n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > [noun]
commonaltyc1300
commonweal?a1400
commonality?c1400
commonwealth1445
weal-public1495
weal1513
society1566
public1621
leviathan1651
community1737
general public1854
collectivity1881
(le) tout Paris1894
John Q.1922
Joe Citizen1932
the world > people > nations > [noun] > commonwealth
commonweal?a1400
commonwealth1445
society > authority > rule or government > a or the state > [noun]
commona1382
commontya1382
policya1393
communitya1398
commonweal?a1400
politic1429
commonwealth1445
well public1447
public thinga1450
public weala1470
body politica1475
weal-public1495
statea1500
politic bodyc1537
body1545
public state1546
civil-wealth1547
republic?1549
state1553
polity1555
publica1586
estate1605
corps politic1696
negara1955
negeri1958
1445 tr. Claudian's De Consulatu Stilichonis in Anglia (1905) 28 261 (MED) Yf by hem no noyaunce grewe to peas of commoun welthe.
a1533 Ld. Berners tr. A. de Guevara Golden Bk. M. Aurelius (1546) sig. H.vjv Of diuers men, and one lorde, is composed a common welth.
a1630 F. Moryson in Shakespeare's Europe (1903) iii. iii. 279 The Cantons of Sweitzerland,..by inviolable observation of theire leagues, constantly governed theire Commonwealth in the old viger.
1750 S. Johnson Rambler No. 145. ⁋3 Men..content to fill up the lowest class of the commonwealth.
a1854 H. Reed Lect. Eng. Hist. (1855) v. 150 Not only the kingly commonwealth of England, but the republican commonwealth of America.
1968 Jrnl. Econ. Abstr. 6 295 Social policy has to guard..a commonwealth against the dangers of..disorganization.
2020 Naked Capitalism (Nexis) 20 June Liberal thinking emerged with Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Thomas Jefferson arguing every individual's equal need, enforced by nature, for self-preservation, primarily through nutrition, and best served through a commonwealth of mutual support.
b. In figurative and extended use. An aggregate of people of things united by some common factor. Cf. commonwealth of learning n.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > [noun] > a division of human society > having values or interests in common
world1548
commonwealth1551
fraternity1565
community1757
1551 W. Turner New Herball Prol. sig. A ijv The hole common welth of all Christendome.
1605 Bp. J. Hall Medit. & Vowes II. §82 The whole heauenly commonwealth of Angels.
1712 W. Rogers Cruising Voy. 311 In the Government of our sailing Common-wealth.
1814 W. Wordsworth Excursion iv. 156 Through all the mighty Commonwealth of things; Up from the creeping plant to sovereign Man. View more context for this quotation
a1817 J. Austen Persuasion (1818) III. vi. 96 She acknowledged it to be very fitting, that every little social commonwealth should dictate its own matters of discourse.
1928 E. Blunden Japanese Garland 37 Remembering how, deep-burdened, eager-eyed, You loved imagination's commonwealth.
2010 Telegraph-Jrnl. (New Brunswick) (Nexis) 5 Aug. a9 If we stick with adversarial politics we may miss the potential of a mature democracy for building up a governance process that is truly attuned to the common good of both human society and the whole commonwealth of life.
c. Theatre. A company of actors who share the takings of performances instead of receiving salaries. Now historical and rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > actor > [noun] > company of actors > types of company
commonwealth1811
fit-up1864
stock company1864
repertory company1885
road company1885
stock1916
playshop1926
repertory1933
theatre workshop1945
rep1959
1811 W. Oxberry Actor's Budget II. 160 In Weston's time, it was the custom in country (or strolling) companies, for the members to form a kind of partnership or commonwealth, and all share alike.
1899 L. Wagner How to get on Stage 112 When..the happy instrumentalist was respectfully invited to throw in his lot with the infinitely less happy ladies and gentlemen who had agreed to form a commonwealth, he refused point-blank.
1948 C. J. L. Price Eng. Theatre in Wales in 18th & Early 19th Cent. iv. 18 On May 8th 1741, six players withdrew from Mr Jones' company and formed a commonwealth of their own.
2000 T. C. Davis Econ. Brit. Stage (2007) 252 These forms of corporate ownership should be compared to the sharing companies—also known amongst performers as the commonwealth plan—utilized in the professional English theatre since the Renaissance.
2. Common well-being; esp. the general good, welfare, or prosperity of a community, country, etc., as a whole. Also occasionally: an instance of this. Cf. commonweal n. 2. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > [noun] > relation in respect of > general or public
wealth1390
common gooda1393
the sum of things?c1400
public good1427
commonweal1429
weal1444
commonwealtha1450
public weala1470
common publicc1475
weal-public1495
public wealth1541
public welfare1579
publica1586
public interest1591
the public (also general) concern1707
summa rerum1715
a1450 in F. W. Willmore Hist. Walsall (1887) 166 (MED) For the comon welthe of the said Towne.
1553 S. Cabot in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (1589) i. 261 The truth of the whole voyage to bee opened, to the common wealth and benefite of the whole companie.
1679 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Reformation: 1st Pt. 25 The common wealth of a whole realm was chiefly to be looked at.
1871 J. Ruskin Fors Clavigera I. vii. 13 Whether you are striving for a Common-Wealth or for a Common-Illth.
1905 E. S. Talbot Developmental Pathol. 5 The cerebral cortex..works least for itself and most for the commonwealth of the whole organism.
2020 This Day (Lagos) (Nexis) 16 Aug. I have faith in the principles of democracy..to build a qualitatively better society based on commonwealth, human rights and social justice under the rule of law.
3.
a. A state in which the supreme power is vested in the people; a republic or democratic state.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > a or the state > [noun] > state ruled by the people
democracy1539
commonwealth1542
state1565
free state1567
commonalty1604
republic1604
people-state1606
populacy1632
peopledom1657
commonality1680
rep1701
commonweal1733
pantarchy1870
1542 T. Elyot Bibliotheca at Democraticus He that fauoureth the common welth, where the people haue auctoritie.
1667 S. Pepys Diary 9 Aug. (1974) VIII. 378 Better things were done, and better managed..under a commonwealth than they have been by this King.
a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. 46 This shews how impossible it is to set up a Commonwealth in England.
1875 Internat. Rev. May 384 A commonwealth..which steps into the place of a monarchy in an already existing nation, has..a harder task before it than a commonwealth which is born along with the nation.
1943 Yale Law Jrnl. 52 206 If legal education in the contemporary world is adequately to serve the needs of a free and productive commonwealth, it must be conscious, efficient, and systematic training for policy-making.
2013 Michigan Citizen 7 July a4 Finance, insurance and investments will be the chief business activity of the commonwealth.
b. British History. Usually with capital initial. The republican government established in England between the execution of Charles I in 1649 and the Restoration of Charles II in 1660; the period in which this government existed. In quot. 16491 in the sense ‘the general good of the nation’; cf. sense 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > a or the system of government > specific regimes > [noun] > in Britain
commonwealth1649
protectorate1662
the usurpation1682
Robinocracy1717
restoration1724
1649 Man in Moon No. 2 16–23 Apr. 11 Truly it cannot be much amisse to the Common-wealth, if they were both destroyed.]
1649 Act 19 May in Acts & Ordinances Interregnum (1911) II. 122 Be it Declared and Enacted by this present Parliament and by the Authority of the same, That the People of England, and of all the Dominions and Territories thereunto belonging, are and shall be, and are hereby Constituted, Made, Established, and Confirmed to be a Commonwealth and Free-State: And shall from henceforth be Governed as a Commonwealth and Free-State, by the Supreme Authority of this Nation, The Representatives of the People in Parliament, and by such as they shall appoint and constitute as Officers and Ministers under them for the good of the People, and that without any King or House of Lords.
1704 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion III. xiii. 355 The Parliament, as soon as they had settled their Common-wealth..sent Embassadours to their Sister Republick, the States of the united Provinces.
1873 P. V. Smith Hist. Eng. Inst. 30 During the Commonwealth Crownwell professed to allow freedom of worship.
1926 R. H. Tawney Relig. & Rise Capitalism iv. 233 The collectivist, half-communistic aspect..quietly dropped out of notice, to crop up once more, and for the last time, to the disgust and terror of merchant and landowner, in the popular agitation under the Commonwealth.
2000 Heritage Feb. 61/1 Mary II..needed new regalia, as the first regnant Queen since Cromwell's Commonwealth.
c. Usually with capital initial. Used in the official titles of the American states of Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia; any of these individual states or their governments.Virginia and Pennsylvania officially adopted the title of Commonwealth in their constitutions in 1776; Massachusetts in 1780; Kentucky in 1792.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > named regions of earth > America > North America > [noun] > United States > commonwealth state
commonwealth1776
1612 R. Johnson New Life Virginea sig. E3v Though your preferments be not great, nor your Common-wealth setled, yet now is most in need of these admonitions.]
1776 Constit. Virginia in Papers T. Jefferson (1950) I. 382 Commissions and Grants shall run, In the name of the Common Wealth of Virginia.
1779 Pennsylvania Gaz. 24 Mar. 4/3 All the best Whigs in the Commonwealth.
1891 Boston (Mass.) Daily Globe 7 Oct. 4/5 They will end by convincing the people of this Commonwealth..that the public schools are something very like an issue.
1994 Sci. Amer. Jan. u3/1 As a land-grant university supported by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Penn State has always made its intellectual and physical resources available for the common good.
2020 Richmond (Va.) Times-Disp. (Nexis) 20 Nov. (ed. 2) 2 d Northam authorized $1.5 million from the commonwealth's Economic Contingency Fund to support education and outreach efforts for the 2020 census.
d. Usually with capital initial. Used in the official title of Puerto Rico; the Puerto Rican state or government.Puerto Rico was inaugurated in 1952 as an unincorporated territory of the United States, adopting the name Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, officially translated as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > named regions of earth > America > West Indies > [noun] > specific countries
commonwealth1946
1946 Econ. Puerto Rico (U.S. Tariff Comm.) App. I. 36 The decisions of the courts of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall be subject to review by the Supreme Court of the United States.
1974 N.Y. Times 23 Mar. (Late City ed.) 64/4 A pair of 30-minute television documentaries examining unfamiliar aspects of life on two islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and remote Bali, make rewarding weekend viewing.
2015 SEC Wire (Nexis) 22 Oct. These GDB bonds are supported by a guarantee from the Commonwealth.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > lack of subjection > rebelliousness > insurrection > [noun] > insurgent > one of specific body of insurgents
white hats1523
commonwealth1549
whiggamore1654
Oakboy1776
1549 Sir A. Aucher Let. 10 Sept. in State Papers Domest. Edward VI (P.R.O.: SP 10/8) f. 103 In these men called common welthes and ther Aderentes... Some of them haue byn sent vpp and come a waye wtout ponysshement and that Comen welthe called Latymer hathe gotten the pardon of otheres... Ther was neuer none that euer spake so vyllye as these called common welthes doe.
5. With the and capital initial. Used in the official title of Australia; the Australian state or government.The term Commonwealth of Australia was adopted when the six colonies of Australia federated in 1901.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > named regions of earth > Australasia > [noun] > Australia
mainland1829
commonwealth1891
Ma State1906
Oz1908
wide brown land1908
Aussie1915
Aussieland1919
1828 Sydney Gaz. 15 Feb. We are not now alarmed by this other political stroke, at the instance of the ex-Secretary to the Colony, under the auspices of an Australian Commonwealth.]
1891 Proc. & Deb. National Australasian Convent. p. cxxx The name ‘The Commonwealth of Australia’ or ‘The Commonwealth’ shall be taken to mean the Commonwealth of Australia as constituted under this Act.
1925 M. Terry Across Unknown Austral. i. 18 The Commonwealth is nearly as big as the United States of America.
2003 Tharunka (Kensington, New S. Wales) 8 Sept. 11/2 The High Court ruled that human rights were a significant international affair and the Commonwealth was legitimately exercising the external affairs power by signing and ratifying the ICEAFRD [i.e. International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination].
6. With the and capital initial. More fully Commonwealth of Nations (formerly British Commonwealth of Nations). An international association consisting of the United Kingdom and other countries, most of which were formerly part of the British Empire.The term British Commonwealth of Nations was officially adopted at the Imperial Conference of 1926. The association was constituted as the Commonwealth of Nations by the London Declaration of 1949, which affirmed the British monarch as its head. It is now chiefly known as the Commonwealth.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > territorial jurisdiction or areas subject to > [noun] > aggregate of sovereign states under one rule > Commonwealth or former British Empire
British Empire1701
empire1769
commonwealth1917
1884 Ld. Rosebery Speech 18 Jan. in Adelaide Observer 26 Jan. 34/2 The British Empire is a commonwealth of nations.]
1917 J. C. Smuts Brit. Commonw. Nations 6 The British Empire is much more than a State... We are a whole world by ourselves, consisting of many nations and states... Beyond that we come to the so-called Dominions..who have been evolved on the principles of your constitutional system, now almost independent states, and who all belong to this group, to this community of nations, which I prefer to call the British Commonwealth of nations.
1926 Rep. Comm. Inter-Imperial Relations in Times 22 Nov. 9/1 They are autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by a common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations.
1937 Discovery Feb. 33/2 The field of organised interchange of scientific effort may one day be wider even than the British Commonwealth.
1974 Times 24 Dec. 8/1 In the afternoon the Queen addresses the Commonwealth.
2019 Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica) 3 Oct. a10/6 The royal couple was greeted in southern Africa with interest but nothing like the minute-by-minute coverage that meets them in some other parts of the Commonwealth.
Phrases
P1.
commonwealth of learning n. the realm of scholars or scholarship; learned people collectively.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > scholarly knowledge, erudition > learned person, scholar > [noun] > learned world
commonwealth of learning1627
scholarship1823
scholarhood1836
scholardom1853
1627 G. Hakewill Apologie iii. x. 258 Many since haue added much to the speede, grace and perfection thereof, whose names, though wee know not, yet perchance, haue they as well deserued of the commonwealth of learning as hee.
1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. ii. 90 Torricellius..to whom all the Common-wealth of Learning are exceedingly oblieg'd.
1726 ‘S. Audrian’ Manifesto Ld. Peter 3 Peter the Wild Gentleman..is the Son of a great Philosopher, who altho' unknown himself, has made no small Figure in the Commonwealth of Learning by his Writings.
1908 Montreal Med. Jrnl. 37 702 The commonwealth of learning throughout the world shared the grief of the University in the loss sustained by the Medical Faculty through the lamentable fires.
2004 India Internat. Centre Q. 31 155 What remains is only a corporation called the university, with officers and so on, but the real university—the commonwealth of learning—goes out, the spirit is gone.
P2.
Commonwealth of Independent States n. [after Russian Sodružestvo nezavisimyx gosudarstv (1991)] a confederation of various former constituent republics of the Soviet Union, formally established in 1991 following the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. Abbreviated CIS.
ΚΠ
1989 Independent 4 Dec. 8/1 [Gorbachev] set out his vision of the Common European Home, a ‘commonwealth of independent states’.]
1991 Associated Press Newswire (Nexis) 8 Dec. Hereby declare the formation of a Commonwealth of Independent States, about which the parties signed an agreement on Dec. 8, 1991. The Commonwealth of Independent States, consisting of the Republic of Byelorussia, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, is open to all member-states of the former U.S.S.R., as well as to other states who share the aims and principles of this agreement.
1994 M. Ebon KGB: Death & Rebirth iii. xiii. 128 Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus..formed the core of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) that emerged from the ashes of the USSR.
2001 Air Safety Week (Electronic ed.) 20 Feb. The fatal accident rate of these [sc. unscheduled] carriers is about 500 times greater over the past five years than the record scheduled carriers have achieved in the many nations now comprising the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
Compounds
C1. General use as a modifier.
ΚΠ
1556 N. Grimald tr. Cicero Thre Bks. Duties ii. f. 65 We gotte vs chieflie to this studie, when we were bereft of our commonwelth offices.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) i. iii. 157 I come to talke of Common-wealth Affayres. View more context for this quotation
1654 E. Johnson Hist. New-Eng. 129 Compleating the Colonies in Church and Common-wealth-work.
1695 Eng. Anc. Const. Eng. 2 Much censured as savouring of commonwealth principles.
a1704 R. L'Estrange Key to Hudibras in Butler's Posthumous Wks. (1715) II. 283 An Empire of Kings signifies a Democracy or Commonwealth Government.
1901 F. J. Gillen Diary 9 May (1968) 73 Today the Duke of Cornwall is to open the Commonwealth Parliament.
1961 Times 6 Dec. 18/5 An amendment like this which sunders United Kingdom citizenship from Commonwealth citizenship.
2003 E. Hunt & N. Keller Rarotonga & Cook Islands (ed. 5) 17/2 The QR is largely a ‘rubber-stamp’ position, the equivalent of the governor general in other Commonwealth countries.
C2.
Commonwealth Day n. a day dedicated to the celebration of the Commonwealth (sense 6).Formerly known as Empire Day n.; Commonwealth Day became the official term in 1959. It has been observed on the second Monday in March since 1973.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > particular time > an anniversary > [noun] > of battles, wars, treaties, etc.
day of truce1486
Evil May Dayc1590
Bonfire Night1661
Pope Day1769
Pope Night1773
the Fourth (of July)1779
Town Taking Day1788
Independence Day1791
Independent Day1803
Guy Fawkes day1825
Bastille Day1837
Trafalgar Day1837
Turkey Day1870
Canada Day1882
Juneteenth1890
flag-day1894
Patriots' Day1894
Remembrance Day1895
twelfth1896
Quatorze Juillet1899
quatorze1915
Armistice Day1918
Poppy Day1921
Remembrance Sunday1925
VJ-day1944
Commonwealth Day1958
1958 Times 19 Dec. 10/2 It is proposed to change the name of Empire Day forthwith to Commonwealth Day.
2013 Brandon (Manitoba) Sun 12 Mar. a12/1 The Queen attended a London reception to celebrate Commonwealth Day on Monday.
Commonwealth English n. the English language as spoken or written in the current or former member states of the Commonwealth (sense 6).Frequently used interchangeably with British English when contrasted with American English, but also used to distinguish between British English and the various forms used in current or former Commonwealth countries such as Australia, South Africa, etc.
ΚΠ
1960 Times Educ. Suppl. 22 Apr. 797/1 Of the people in the world who now speak English, the 50 millions who live in these islands are but a fraction of the total number. There is American English, Commonwealth English, English of all shapes and kinds.
1985 L. W. Lanham & C. A. MacDonald Standard in South Afr. Eng. & its Social Hist. (ed. 2) i. 21 The peculiar properties of English in SA society are highlighted by a comparison with Australian English as another variety of 'Commonwealth English' of similar vintage and origin as SAE.
2010 @chrisjonz 17 Mar. in twitter.com (accessed 21 Apr. 2020) I am tempted by the british spelling every time I write the words color and labor. What is your strange appeal, commonwealth english?
Commonwealth Games n. a sporting and athletic competition held every four years between the member nations of the Commonwealth (sense 6), hosted by a city in one of the nations.The first such games were held in 1930. Originally called The (British) Empire Games, the event was renamed the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1954, the British Commonwealth Games in 1970, and the Commonwealth Games in 1978.A proprietary name in the United Kingdom.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > match or competition > [noun] > series of, as public spectacle
gamea1387
sports1535
Olympic Games1636
gymkhana1861
meet1893
sportfest1919
summer games1928
sportsfest1953
Commonwealth Games1954
motorkhana1954
1954 Mason City (Iowa) Globe-Gaz. 30 Jan. (Home ed.) 5/1 (headline) New stadium for Commonwealth Games.
1978 Guardian 15 Aug. 18/8 The Leicester manager is trying to tempt Joe Awome, Commonwealth Games heavyweight gold medallist to sign as a professional.
1986 Boys' Life Dec. 79/2 Athletes from around the world competed in Edinburgh, Scotland, last summer in the 13th Commonwealth Games.
2005 K. Holmes Black, White & Gold xiv. 163 Fortunately the Commonwealth Games were late that year and not held until mid-September.
Commonwealth Realm n. a member nation of the Commonwealth (sense 6) which recognizes the British monarch as its head of state.
ΚΠ
1955 Times 22 Nov. 9/5 I wrote to the Minister reminding him that the Commonwealth realms including Britain are all closely associated inter se and vis-à-vis foreign Powers.
2020 MapleAndTea 19 Dec. in twitter.com (accessed 21 Dec. 2020) Canada is the only Commonwealth Realm (besides Australia) that does not regularly confer knighthoods.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2021; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1445