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 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 (matter, thing, affair)—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." The most essential characteristic of a res publica was liberty (libertas), which meant freedom from the arbitrary control of another and the absence of monarchical domination over the body politic, that was analogous to the absolute power of a master over a slave.