Rzecz Pospolita

() is the official name of Poland and a traditional name for some of its predecessor states. It is a compound of "thing, matter" and "common", a calque of Latin ''rés pública'' ( "thing" + "public, common"), i.e. ''republic'', in English also rendered as ''commonwealth'' (historic) and ''republic'' (current).

In Poland, the word is used exclusively in relation to the Republic of Poland, while any other republic is referred to in Polish as a , e.g., French Republic – pl, Republika Francuska.

Origins

The term has been used in Poland since the beginning of the 16th century. It was adapted for Poland, as it at that time had a unique republican system, similar to the former Roman . The famous quote by Jan Zamoyski, the Lord Chancellor of the Crown, on the importance of education is an example of its use:

The meaning of is well described by the term ''commonwealth''. As a result, the literal meaning of is "Polish Commonwealth", or "Republic of Poland". Although the first was an elective monarchy, the king had no real power, as most of the state affairs were regulated by the parliament and senate, known as the Sejm.

The Latin name for the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is .

The three

is also used in a series of symbolic names referring to three periods in the history of Poland:
* ( pl, Pierwsza Rzeczpospolita) (sometimes translated as the "First Polish Republic"), in reference to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795). During this period, the commonwealth was ruled ''de facto'' by a privileged class called the , which had (among numerous others) the right to elect both the king and parliament (the Sejm). This political system is known as the Golden Liberty. It began with the Union of Lublin in 1569 and ended with the third and final Partition of Poland in 1795. Sometimes the term is used in reference to the country before the Union of Lublin too, because the started limiting king's autocracy starting in the early 1500s.
* ( pl, Druga Rzeczpospolita), in reference to the Second Polish Republic (1918–1939). Used to refer to the interwar period, lasting from the regaining of independence in 1918 following the end of World War I up to the World War II-triggering invasion of Poland in 1939 by both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. The renascent Polish State was initially called the Republic of Poland ( pl, Republika Polska). The title was introduced by the March Constitution of Poland, the first article of which stated that , meaning "the Polish State is a Commonwealth".
* ( pl, Trzecia Rzeczpospolita), in reference to the current Third Polish Republic (1990–present). This is the title of the present-day Polish state, dating from the fall of the Polish People's Republic (a satellite state of the Soviet Union) and the reintroduction of democratic elections in Poland – the 1990 local government elections (27 May 1990) were the first free elections in Poland after World War II.

Other usage

Expressions that make use the concept of include:
* – Republic of Nobles (), another name for the ;
* – The Commonwealth of the Both Nations, another name for the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth;
* – Babin Republic, a satirical literary society, founded by a group of nobles during the second half of the 16th century;
* – Free City of Kraków or Republic of Kraków (1815–1846);
* – Republic of Zakopane, a short-lasting form of an independent state, established for about a month in October 1918;
* – People's Republic of Poland, a name used formally from 1952 to 1990; was often abbreviated to simply or PRL. Sometimes refers (wrongly) to the post-war period 1944–1952.
* – Fourth Polish Republic, a slogan used by the political party Law and Justice.

Nowadays, the terms and are used interchangeably, so far as they relate to the Polish state by default.

Before 1939, was sometimes abbreviated to in written documents, while ''RP'' is still a common abbreviation for .

The Lithuanian word is a direct borrowing from Polish. The East Slavic equivalents of the name are: russian: Речь Посполитая, Rječ Pospolitaja; uk, Річ Посполита, Rič Pospolyta; be, Рэч Паспалітая, Reč Paspalitaja.

See also

* History of Poland
* Name of Poland
* Outline of Poland

Notes

References

*

External links

{{Wiktionary

Commonwealth of Diverse Cultures: Poland's Heritage

Country name etymology
Government of Poland