Thinking about how we have Democrats and Republicans, yet both come from words that describe our country.
A democracy is just a country governed by the people. Athens was the first, garnering votes directly from citizens (although I don't think every citizen was allowed to).
A republic involves representatives voted for by the citizens, as it was with the Roman Republic, a period of time featuring yearly elections for two consuls.
But it's worth emphasizing that both represent marketing, with the terms in common use detached form history.
Still, if we want to look at origins, we consider Federalist 10:
"A republic, by which I mean a government in which the scheme of representation takes place"
Federalist 10, by Madison, looks at republic vs democracy in depth as the terms are intended in the US context.
