commonwealth
/ˈkɒmənwelθ/noun
1
- an independent state or community, especially a democratic republic国家; 独立的政治共同体（尤指民主共和国）。
1.1
- an aggregate or grouping of states or other bodies联邦。
1.2
- a community or organization of shared interests in a non-political field（非政治领域内由共同利益组成的）团体, 界, 组织：
the Christian commonwealth
基督教组织
the commonwealth of letters.
文学界。
1.3
- a self-governing unit voluntarily grouped with the US, such as Puerto Rico（自愿加入美国的）自治政区, 自治政体（如波多黎各）。
1.4
- a formal title of some of the states of the US, especially Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia（美国的）州（尤指肯塔基、马萨诸塞、宾夕法尼亚和弗吉尼亚）。
1.5
- the title of the federated Australian states（澳大利亚）联邦。
1.6
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（从1649年查理一世被判死刑至1660年查理二世复辟期间的）英伦三岛共和国时期, 共和政体时期。
2
the Commonwealth
（全称the Commonwealth of Nations）an international association consisting of the UK together with states that were previously part of the British Empire, and dependencies. The British monarch is the symbolic head of the Commonwealth.英联邦, 不列颠联邦（由英国和一些昔日为大英帝国部分的国家以及属地组成的国际联合）。
3
the commonwealth
archaic the general good〈古〉公益。
词源
late Middle English （originally as two words, denoting public welfare; compare with COMMONWEAL）： from COMMON + WEALTH.