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Book title

The title of the Republic in Greek, politeía, literally means the order or character of a political community, i.e., its constitution or regime type. For various reasons, this was rendered in Latin as res publica, the "public business" or the "commonwealth". Greek works used to be referred to by their Latin or Latinized titles, and so Plato's dialogue came to be known in English as the Republic. It is not, however, primarily a work on republicanism in the modern sense of the term. Regardless, the title of the Republic is still used on account of that tradition.