republic English · revision 4323

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1603|origins=la res publica}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /rɪˈpʌb.lɪk/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|république]], Middle French republique (15th century),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) a learned borrowing from [[la|rēs pūblica|alt=respublica|t=the common weal, commonwealth, state]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) literally res publica “public interest, the state”,^(Etymonline) from res “affair, matter, thing” and publica, feminine of publicus “public”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) It is related to [[public]] and [[real]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ “The state, the common weal”, now obsolete: 1603 in the OED.^(OED 1989) A nation governed by elected representatives is from 1604, in Cawdrey's Table Alphabeticall, according to Barnhart and the OED;^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) about 1600 in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) and about 1549 in Merriam-Webster Unabridged.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It was applied to particular states with this constitution by the 1630s,^(Etymonline) 1631 in the OED.^(OED 1989) The idea of a community with a certain equality among its members lies behind ''the republic of letters'', the body of people engaged in literature, from 1702,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and its use for communities of animals, from 1750.^(OED 1989) ''Republican'', like a republic, is from 1712, in Addison's Spectator, and favouring a republic from 1793;^(Barnhart 1988) the noun, one who favours a republic, is from 1697.^(Barnhart 1988) Of a member of a Republican party in American politics it is first recorded in John Adams's diary in 1782.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1603 – the state, common weal.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1604 – a state governed by representatives.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1631 – of particular states.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1697 – ''republican'', noun.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1702 – ''the republic of letters''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1712 – ''republican'', adjective.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A form of government whose [[head of state]] is not a [[monarch]], in modern times usually a [[president]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A nation with such a government.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A form of government in which power lies with citizens who vote for representatives responsible to them.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A community whose members share equal standing: ''the republic of letters''.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[republican]]

+ * [[public]]

+ * [[real]]

+ * [[commonwealth]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}