The word republic can be traced all the way back to the Latin respublica, which referred to “the common weal, a commonwealth, state, republic”, in turn emerging from ‘res’, meaning ‘affair, matter, thing’ and ‘publica’, the feminine form of publicus or ‘public’. The term originates from the Latin translation of the Greek word politeia, meaning a form of government, polity, or regime. The word republic refers to a form of government whereas democracy is the political philosophy that determines how that government is run. Today, 159 of the world’s 206 countries use the word ‘republic’ as part of their official names. A republic can choose to follow a Parliamentary system (as the Republic of India does) or a Presidential one (like the United States of America, which is a Republic though it does not formally use that word in its name).

Source: Hindustan Times January 25, 2020 11:37 UTC