Commonwealth of Nations
- proper noun
:
Comunidad de Naciones
- The Commonwealth of Nations promotes cooperation and understanding among its member states.
Examples
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To assist at the birth of an independent India... and to welcome her as an equal member... in the British Commonwealth of Nations.
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In the British Commonwealth of Nations.
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Prior to World War II, British subjects were free to move to and from countries that were part of the British Empire and the British Commonwealth of Nations long after they gained full sovereignty.
Blog text (18) -
Many countries joined the Commonwealth of Nations after gaining independence from British rule.
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The leaders of the Commonwealth of Nations met to discuss global challenges and initiatives.
Synonyms
166
6.6
A group of independent countries that work together and share history
2
3.9
A group of independent countries that were once ruled by Britain and share ties to the British Crown
Surface Forms
Morphology
commonwealth + of + nation
The phrase is compositionally built from 'commonwealth' (an organization of independent countries) + 'of' + 'nations' (countries), so a learner who knows the constituents can infer it denotes an association of nations. Although some specific historical details (e.g. membership including the UK and former colonies) are conventional, the core meaning is directly derivable and cross-linguistically straightforward.
Etymology
Commonwealth of Nations comes from the old idea of a common good and wealth meaning shared resources or well‑being. It began when Britain and many places it once ruled chose to stay friends and share benefits after becoming 'independent', so today the name means a group of countries that 'cooperate' and help each other.