Res publica

Res publica, also spelled rēs pūblica to indicate vowel length, is a Latin phrase, loosely meaning "public affair". It is the root of the republic, and commonwealth has traditionally been used as a synonym for it; however, translations vary widely according to the context. Res is a nominative singular Latin noun for a substantive or concrete thing—as opposed to spes, which means something unreal or ethereal—and publica is an attributive adjective meaning "of or pertaining to the public, people", hence a literal translation is "the public thing, affair", or "the people's thing, affair".

The Latin term res publica was incompatible with the idea of absolute power by any individual or group over the body of citizens. The most essential characteristic of a res publica was liberty (libertas), which meant freedom from the arbitrary control of another and the absence of a monarchical domination over the body politic, that was analogous to the absolute power of a master over a slave.