Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

commonwealth

/ˈkɑmənˌwɛlθ/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.34 in modern English

Syllables
com-mon-wealth
IPA
/ˈkɑmənˌwɛlθ/
24
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
3
Syllables
10
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The well-being of a community.

Obsolete

noun

The entirety of a (secular) society, a polity, a state.

noun

Republic. Often capitalized, as Commonwealth.

name

The Commonwealth of England (1649–1653); the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland (1653–1660).

British usage

Example Sentences

Etymology

From common (“public”) + wealth (“well-being”). From c. 1450 as common wele (commonweal). In the form common-wealth (common welthe) from c. 1520, used by Tyndale in the sense "secular society" in particular, for which other authors preferred publike weal. Also from the 1520s treated as a synonym or loan-translation of res publica (republic) (Rollison 2017:67f).

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈkɑmənˌwɛlθ/
  • British English: /ˈkɒmənˌwɛlθ/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Questions

How do you pronounce commonwealth?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈkɑmənˌwɛlθ/.
What does commonwealth mean?
The well-being of a community.
Where does commonwealth come from?
From common (“public”) + wealth (“well-being”). From c. 1450 as common wele (commonweal). In the form common-wealth (common welthe) from c. 1520, used by Tyndale in the sense "secular society" in particular, for which other authors preferred publike weal. Also from the 1520s treated as a synonym or loan-translation of res publica (republic) (Rollison 2017:67f).

How to pronounce commonwealth

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “commonwealth”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈkɑmənˌwɛlθ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “commonwealth”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “commonwealth” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.