\Re*pub"lic\ (r?-p?b"l?k), n. [F. r['e]publique, 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.
Note: 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.