Re*pub"lic (r?-p?b"l?k), n. [F. république, L.
respublica commonwealth; res a thing, an affair + publicus, publica, public. See Real, a., and Public.]
1. Common weal. [Obs.] B.
Jonson.
2. A state in which the sovereign power resides in the whole
body of the
people, and is exercised by representatives
elected by them; a commonwealth. Cf. Democracy, 2.
&fist; In some
ancient states called republics the sovereign power was exercised by an hereditary aristocracy or a privileged few, constituting a government now distinctively called an
aristocracy. In some there was a division of authority between an aristocracy and the whole
body of the
people except slaves. No existing republic recognizes
an exclusive privilege of any class to
govern, or tolerates the institution of slavery.
Republic of letters, The collective body of literary or learned men.
Hear it pronounced