The English noun Commonwealth dates originally from the fifteenth century. The original phrase "common wealth" or "the common weal" comes from the old meaning of "wealth" which is "well-being". The term literally meant "common well-being". Thus commonwealth originally meant a state governed for the common good as opposed to an authoritarian state governed for the benefit of a given class of owners.
Today the term is more general and means a political community.
The type of community indicated by the term commonwealth varies. For instance, in different contexts it might indicate:
- a political unit founded in law by agreement of the people for the common good;
- a federated union of constituent states;
- a community of sovereign states;
- a republic;
- a democratic constitutional monarchy;