Originally posted by mistyblue:
[b]re·pub·lic Pronunciation (r-pblk)
n.
1.
a. A political order whose head of state is not a monarch and in
modern times is usually a president.
b. A nation that has such a political order.
2.
a. A political order in which the supreme power lies in a body of
citizens who are entitled to vote for officers and representatives
responsible to them.
b. A nation that has such a political order.
3. often Republic A specific republican government of a nation: the
Fourth Republic of France.
4. An autonomous or partially autonomous political and territorial
unit belonging to a sovereign federation.
5. A group of people working as equals in the same sphere or field:
the republic of letters.
[/b]
supposedly, but we all know democracy doesn't exist. 