| 释义 |
com·mon·wealth
\ˈkämənˌwelth, | ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ˈ ̷ ̷\ noun
(-s)
Etymology: Middle English commen wealthe, from commen, commun common + wealthe, welthe wealth (well-being)
1. : public welfare : wealth held in common
2.
a. : a whole body of people united by common consent to form a nation, state, or politically organized community
b. : a state especially conceived as a body politic founded on law and united by compact or by tacit agreement of the people for the common good
c. : a state in which the supreme power resides with the people and their representatives : republic
< the commonwealth established in England under Oliver Cromwell >
3.
a. : a state of the U.S.
< commonwealths joining the Union after the Civil War >
— used in the official designations of Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia in preference to the word state
b. : a self-governing autonomous state; usually : a former colony that is associated by treaty or agreement in a loose political federation with a mother country or former colonial power
< Commonwealth of Australia >
c. : an association of self-governing autonomous states united by a common allegiance to a mother country and forming by treaty or agreement a loose confederation having a somewhat common political and cultural background
< a commonwealth of nations >
< the British Commonwealth >
4.
a. : a group of persons conceived of as united by common interests
< the commonwealth of artists or of literary men >
b. : the range of interests uniting such a group
< the commonwealth of learning > |