/ri pub"lik/ , n.
1. a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them.
2. any body of persons viewed as a commonwealth.
3. a state in which the head of government is not a monarch or other hereditary head of state.
4. ( cap. ) any of the five periods of republican government in France. Cf. First Republic, Second Republic, Third Republic, Fourth Republic, Fifth Republic .
5. ( cap., italics. ) a philosophical dialogue (4th century B.C.) by Plato dealing with the composition and structure of the ideal state.
[ 1595-1605; république, MF res publica, equiv. to res thing, entity + publica PUBLIC ]