Editing Republic (section)

== Etymology ==
{{See also|Res publica|Civitas}}
[[File:Bust of Cicero (1st-cent. BC) - Palazzo Nuovo - Musei Capitolini - Rome 2016.jpg|thumb|Sculpture of [[Cicero]]]]

The term originates from the Latin translation of [[Greek language|Greek]] word ''[[politeia]]''. [[Cicero]], among other Latin writers, translated ''politeia'' into Latin as ''[[res publica]]'', and it was in turn translated by Renaissance scholars as ''republic'' (or similar terms in various European languages).<ref>{{cite web |title=Republic |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/republic |website=Merriam Webster |publisher=Merrium-Webster Inc. |access-date=5 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cullen |first1=Daniel |title=Republics |journal=The Encyclopedia of Political Thought |date=2014 |pages=3243–3248 |doi=10.1002/9781118474396.wbept0887 |isbn=9781118474396}}</ref> The term can literally be translated as 'public matter'.<ref name=Ideas2099>"Republic"j, ''New Dictionary of the History of Ideas''. Ed. [[Maryanne Cline Horowitz]]. Vol. 5. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005. p. 2099</ref> It was used by Roman writers to refer to the state and government, even during the period of the [[Roman Empire]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last1=Lewis|first1=Charlton T.|first2=Charles |last2=Short |title=res, II.K|encyclopedia=[[A Latin Dictionary]]|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|year=1879|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3Dres|access-date=August 14, 2010}}</ref>

The term ''politeia'' can be translated as [[government|form of government]], [[polity]], or [[regime]], and it does not necessarily imply any specific type of regime as the modern word ''republic'' sometimes does. One of [[Plato]]'s major works on political philosophy, usually known in English as ''[[The Republic (Plato)|The Republic]]'',  was titled ''Politeia''. However, apart from the title, modern translations  are generally used.<ref>[[Allan Bloom|Bloom, Allan]]. ''The Republic''. Basic Books, 1991. pp. 439–40</ref> [[Aristotle]] was apparently the first classical writer to state that the term ''politeia'' can be used to refer more specifically to one type of ''politeia'', asserting in Book III of his ''[[Politics (Aristotle)|Politics]]'': "When the citizens at large govern for the public good, it is called by the name common to all governments (''to koinon onoma pasōn tōn politeiōn''), government (''politeia'')". In later Latin works the term ''republic'' can also be used in a general way to refer to any regime, or to refer specifically to governments which work for the public good.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/political-science-and-government/political-science-terms-and-concepts/republic|title=Republic {{!}} Encyclopedia.com|website=www.encyclopedia.com|language=en|access-date=2018-10-20}}</ref>

In medieval [[Northern Italy]], a number of city states had [[Medieval commune|commune]] or [[signoria]] based governments. In the late Middle Ages, writers such as [[Giovanni Villani]] described these states using terms such as ''libertas populi'', a free people. The terminology changed in the 15th century as the renewed interest in the writings of [[Ancient Rome]] caused writers to prefer classical terminology. To describe non-monarchical states, writers (most importantly, [[Leonardo Bruni]]) adopted the Latin phrase ''[[res publica]]''.<ref>Rubinstein, Nicolai. "Machiavelli and Florentine Republican Experience" in ''Machiavelli and Republicanism'' Cambridge University Press, 1993.</ref>

While Bruni and [[Machiavelli]] used the term to describe the states of Northern Italy, which were not monarchies, the term ''res publica'' has a set of interrelated meanings in the original Latin. In subsequent centuries, the English word ''[[commonwealth]]'' came to be used as a translation of ''res publica'', and its use in English was comparable to how the Romans used the term ''res publica''.<ref name=Haakonssen>Haakonssen, Knud. "Republicanism." ''A Companion to Contemporary Political Philosophy''. Robert E. Goodin and Philip Pettit. eds. Cambridge: Blackwell, 1995.</ref> Notably, during [[The Protectorate]] of [[Oliver Cromwell]] the word ''commonwealth'' was the most common term to call the new monarchless state, but the word ''republic'' was also in common use.<ref name=Kingsxxiii>{{Harvcoltxt|Everdell|2000}} p. xxiii.</ref>