Main Entry: com·mon·wealth

Pronunciation: \-ˌwelth also -ˌweltth\

Function: noun

Date: 15th century

1 archaic : commonweal 2
2 : a nation, state, or other political unit: as a : one founded on law and united by compact or tacit agreement of the people for the common good b : one in which supreme authority is vested in the people c : republic
3 capitalized a : the English state from the death of Charles I in 1649 to the Restoration in 1660 b : protectorate 1b
4 : a state of the United States —used officially of Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia
5 capitalized : a federal union of constituent states —used officially of Australia
6 often capitalized : an association of self-governing autonomous states more or less loosely associated in a common allegiance (as to the British crown)
7 often capitalized : a political unit having local autonomy but voluntarily united with the United States —used officially of Puerto Rico and of the Northern Mariana Islands