private

private
\ \ [14] Latin prīvus meant ‘single, individual’. From it was derived the verb prīvāre, source of English deprive [14] and privation [14]. This originally meant ‘make solitary, isolate’, and although it later moved on metaphorically to ‘bereave, deprive’, its earliest sense was preserved in the adjective formed from its past participle prīvātus. This denoted ‘belonging to the individual alone’, hence ‘not belonging or related to the state’. English has acquired the word twice: first, via Old French, as the now almost archaic privy [13], and later, directly from Latin, as private. Privilege [12] comes via Old French privilege from Latin prīvilēgium, a compound formed from prīvus and lēxlaw’ (source of English legal) which etymologically meant ‘law affecting an individual’.
\ \ Cf.DEPRIVE, PRIVILEGE, PRIVY

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • private — pri‧vate [ˈpraɪvt] adjective [only before a noun] 1. private property, businesses, activities etc are owned or paid for by people and companies, rather than the government: • They transferred ownership of thousands of companies from the state to …   Financial and business terms

  • private — pri·vate adj 1 a: intended for or restricted to the use of a particular person or group or class of persons: not available to the public a private park b: not related to, controlled by, or deriving from the state a private school 2 a: owned by or …   Law dictionary

  • Private — Media Group  Pour l’article homonyme, voir Private (homonymie).  Private Media Group …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Private — Pri vate (?; 48), a. [L. privatus apart from the state, peculiar to an individual, private, properly p. p. of privare to bereave, deprive, originally, to separate, fr. privus single, private, perhaps originally, put forward (hence, alone, single) …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • private — [prī′vət] adj. [ME pryvat < L privatus, belonging to oneself, not to the state < privare, to separate, deprive < privus, separate, peculiar, prob. akin to OL pri: see PRIME] 1. of, belonging to, or concerning a particular person or… …   English World dictionary

  • Private — can refer to:* Privacy, the ability of a person to control the availability and path of information about himself or herself and exposure of himself or herself. * privately held companies * Private (rank), a military grade * Private (film), a… …   Wikipedia

  • private — ► ADJECTIVE 1) for or belonging to one particular person or group only. 2) (of a service or industry) provided by an individual or commercial company rather than the state. 3) (of thoughts, feelings, etc.) not to be shared or revealed. 4) (of a… …   English terms dictionary

  • Private — Pri vate (pr[imac] v[asl]t), n. 1. A secret message; a personal unofficial communication. [Obs.] Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. Personal interest; particular business.[Obs.] [1913 Webster] Nor must I be unmindful of my private. B. Jonson. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • private — (adj.) late 14c., from L. privatus set apart, belonging to oneself (not to the state), used in contrast to publicus, communis; originally pp. stem of privare to separate, deprive, from privus one s own, individual, from Old L. pri before.… …   Etymology dictionary

  • private — [adj1] personal, intimate behind the scenes*, clandestine, closet*, close to one’s chest*, confidential, discreet, exclusive, hushed, hush hush*, independent, individual, inside, nonpublic, not open, off the record*, own, particular, privy*,… …   New thesaurus

  • private — [[t]pra͟ɪvɪt[/t]] ♦♦ privates 1) ADJ: usu ADJ n Private industries and services are owned or controlled by an individual person or a commercial company, rather than by the state or an official organization. ...a joint venture with private… …   English dictionary

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