Res publica

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Res publica, also spelled rēs pūblica to indicate vowel length, is a Latin phrase, loosely meaning "public affair". It is the root of the word 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 thing, affair of the public," or "the thing, affair of the people."