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For U.S. insular areas that designate themselves as "Commonwealths", see Commonwealth (U.S. insular area).
The four U.S. states (highlighted in green) that are designated Commonwealths: Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia
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Commonwealth is a term used by four of the 50 states of the United States in their full official longform state names: Kentucky,[1] Massachusetts,[2] Pennsylvania,[3] and Virginia.[4] "Commonwealth" is a traditional English term used to describe a political community as having been founded for the common good, and shares some similarities with the Latin phrase "res publica" ('the public thing'), which ultimately is the derivation of the word republic.[5]
The four states are all in the Eastern United States, and prior to the formation of the United States in 1776 were British colonial possessions, although Kentucky did not exist as an independent polity under British rule, instead being a part of colonial Virginia. As such, they share a strong influence of English common law in some of their laws and institutions.[6][7] However, the "commonwealth" appellation is merely stylistic and carries no legal or political significance, it thus does not make "commonwealth" states any different from other U.S. states.[citation needed]
Definition
The term commonwealth does not describe or provide for any specific political status or legal relationship when used by a state.[8] Those that do use it are equal to those that do not. A traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good, it is used symbolically to emphasize that these states have a "government based on the common consent of the people"[9] as opposed to the British crown. It refers to the common "wealth", or welfare, of the public[10] and is derived from a loose translation of the Latin term res publica.[a] Premodern English used the alternative term "commonwealth" in such sense in place of the now singularly standard term "republic."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_%28U.S._state%29