Essential Meaning of republic
: a country that is governed by elected representatives and by an elected leader (such as a president) rather than by a king or queen
an independent republic an eastern European republic
Full Definition of republic
1a(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 (such 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 (such 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 U.S.S.R., or Yugoslavia
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Merriam-Webster unabridged











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Time Traveler for republic
The first known use of republic was in 1596
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