commonwealth

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
commonwealth/ˈkɒmənwelθ/

▶noun

• 1 an independent state or community, especially a democratic republic.

  ■ a grouping of states or other bodies.

  ■ a self-governing unit voluntarily grouped with the US, such as Puerto Rico.

  ■ a formal title of certain US states.

  ■ the title of the federated Australian states.

• 2 (the Commonwealth) (in full the Commonwealth of Nations) an international association consisting of the UK together with states that were previously part of the British Empire, and dependencies.

• 3 (the Commonwealth) the republican period of government in Britain between the execution of Charles I in 1649 and the Restoration of Charles II in 1660.

• 4 (the commonwealth) archaic the general good.