public
Part of speech: adj
Morphological type: simple
Topics: business
education
Etymology: The adjective and noun are derived from Late Middle English publik, publike (“(adjective) generally observable, public; relating to the general public or public affairs; (noun) a generally observable place or situation”), from Anglo-Norman public, publik, publique, Middle French public, publique, and Old French public (“(adjective) generally observable, public; relating to the general public; official; (noun) community or its members collectively; nation, state; audience, spectators collectively”) (modern French public, publique (obsolete)); and from their etymon Latin pūblicus (“of or belonging to the community, people, or state; general, public”), an alteration of poplicus (influenced by pūbēs (“adult men; male population”)), from poplus (“community; the people, public; nation, state”) (later populus; from Proto-Italic *poplos (“army”); further origin uncertain, possibly from Etruscan or from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- (“to fill”)) + -icus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’). Related to people, populus, etc.
The Middle English word displaced native Old English ceorlfolc and folclic.
The verb is derived from the adjective.
Inflected forms:
form: more public
pos: adj
tags: comparative
form: most public
pos: adj
tags: superlative
form: publick
pos: adj
tags: alternative
form: publicke
pos: adj
tags: alternative
form: publike
pos: adj
tags: alternative
form: publique
pos: adj
tags: alternative
Senses:
gloss: Able to be known or seen by everyone; happening without concealment; open to general view.
pos: adj
examples: VVith ſcoffes and ſcornes, and contumelious taunts, / In open Market-place produc't they me, / To be a publique ſpectacle to all: / Here, ſayd they, is the Terror of the French, / The Scar-Crovv that affrights our Children ſo.
[T]he Apoſtles preached as vvell vvhen they vvrote as vvhen they ſpake the Goſpell of Chriſt, and our vſuall publique reading of the vvord of God for the peoples inſtruction is preaching.
Thy [Jesus's] firſt publique miracle graceth a marriage; It is an ancient and laudable inſtitution, that the rites of matrimony ſhould not vvant a ſolemne celebration; VVhen are feaſts in ſeaſon, if not at the recouery of our loſt ribbe?
The Parliament alſo permitted General [George] Monck to ſend Mʳ [Thomas] Clarges his brother-in-law, accompanied vvith ſome Officers of the Army, to aſſure his Majeſty [Charles II of England] of the fidelity and obedience of the Army; vvhich had made publick and ſolemn proteſtations thereof, after the Letter and Declaration vvas communicated unto them by the General.
[O]ur last advices from Spain inform us, that the prince of Asturias had made his public entry into Madrid in great splendour.
Clear away! There was nothing they wouldn't have cleared away, or couldn't have cleared away, with old Fezziwig looking on. It was done in a minute. Every movable was packed off, as if it were dismissed from public life for evermore; the floor was swept and watered, the lamps were trimmed, fuel was heaped upon the fire; and the warehouse was as snug, and warm, and dry, and bright a ball-room, as you would desire to see upon a winter's night.
Earlier this month [Tim] Godwin had to make a public apology to the family of Daniel Morgan after the collapse of a £30m inquiry into his murder in 1987.
Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic who still resists the idea that something drastic needs to happen for him to turn his life around. Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become. When a series of bank failures made this impossible, there was widespread anger, leading to the public humiliation of symbolic figures.
gloss: Open to all members of a community, as opposed to only a segment of it; especially, provided by national or local authorities and supported by money from taxes.
pos: adj
examples: public library    public park
I ſavv her once / Hop forty Paces through the publicke ſtreete, […]
There are some fields near Manchester, well known to the inhabitants as "Green Heys Fields," through which runs a public footpath to a little village about two miles distant.
Our late distinguished townsman, Noah Dow, Esquire, as is well known, bequeathed a large portion of his fortune to this establishment,—"being thereto moved," as his will expressed it, "by the desire of N. Dowing some publick Institution for the benefit of Mankind."
Then it occurred to me that I might be doing a rash thing in going off to an unknown house in a seedy suburb. So I went into a public telephone-booth, rang up the Club, and told the porter that if Colonel Arbuthnot called, I was at 4 Palmyra Square, N.W.—I made him write down the address—and would be back before ten o'clock.
The couple had hoped to be married on the actual steps of the State House but State House police made it impossible. Leary claimed that the police had told him that he would be "arrested" if he crossed the street. "They had no right to say that," he said. "The stairway there is a public stairway."
Officials say about 500 babies are abandoned each year in Western Cape province and that the number is increasing. Some are left for dead on rubbish tips, in refuge bags or at public toilets.
Now we are liberal with our innermost secrets, spraying them into the public ether with a generosity our forebears could not have imagined. Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet.
gloss: Open to all members of a community, as opposed to only a segment of it; especially, provided by national or local authorities and supported by money from taxes.
pos: adj
gloss: Pertaining to the people as a whole, as opposed to a group of people; concerning the whole community or country.
pos: adj
examples: [S]tanding publick Records have been kept of theſe vvell atteſted Relations, and Epocha’s made of thoſe unvvonted events.
[I]f the nominated be to a place vvherein he is entruſted vvith the management of public moneys, he that nominates is ſurety for him, and is to make good vvhat he defrauds the Common-vvealth of.
I Profeſs in the ſincerity of my Heart that I have not the leaſt perſonal Intereſt in endeavouring to promote this neceſſary VVorks having no other Motive than the publick Good of my Country, by advancing our Trade, providing for Infants, relieving the Poor, and giving ſome Pleaſure to the Rich.
I knew a brazen minister of state, / Who bore for twice ten years the publick hate. / In every mouth the question most in vogue / Was, When will they turn out this odious rogue?
Money, being the instrument of an important public and private purpose, is rightly regarded as wealth; but everything else which serves any human purpose, and which nature does not afford gratuitously, is wealth also. […] Everything forms therefore a part of wealth, which has a power of purchasing; for which anything useful or agreeable would be given in exchange.
A mere 3% of the more than 1,000 people interviewed said they actually knew what the conference was about. It seems safe to say public awareness of the Convention on Biological Awareness in Nagoya – and its goal of safeguarding wildlife – is close to non-existent.
In order to grant the rich these pleasures, the social contract is reconfigured. […] The public realm is privatised, the regulations restraining the ultra-wealthy and the companies they control are abandoned, and Edwardian levels of inequality are almost fetishised.
gloss: Officially representing the community; carried out or funded by the government or state on behalf of the community, rather than by a private organization.
pos: adj
examples: public housing    public officer    public prosecutor    public servant
Hee brought-in likevvise the ancient cuſtome againe, that in vvhat moneth hee had not the Knitches of rods vvith Axes borne before him, a publique Officer called Accensvs ſhould huiſher him before, and the Serjeants or Lictours follovv after behinde.
[T]hoſe vvho aſſiſt the Commonvvealth in a time of need vvith their eſtates, lending ſuch a ſum of mony as the Lavv determines, have liberty granted them to be preſent in this Council, and to underſtand the management of public affairs (yet vvithout povver of balloting) till ſuch time as their moneys be repaid, and ſometimes longer.
[P]oor Houſekeepers, vvho vvill be glad to accept of ſome private Benefactions, and yet, having lived creditably, till reduced by Misfortunes, are aſhamed to apply for publick Relief: […]
It is vvonderful, Sir, vvith hovv little real ſuperiority of mind men can make an eminent figure in publick life.
Eager to find material for stories, and bent on making them original in plot, if not masterly in execution, […] she excited the suspicions of public librarians by asking for works on poisons; […]
From another point of view, it was a place without a soul. The well-to-do had hearts of stone; the rich were brutally bumptious; the Press, the Municipality, all the public men, were ridiculously, vaingloriously self-satisfied.
But culture's total budget is a tiny proportion of all public spending; it is one of the government's most visible success stories.
gloss: Pertaining to a person in the capacity in which they deal with other people on a formal or official basis, as opposed to a personal or private capacity; official, professional.
pos: adj
examples: public face    public image
The first that I lay my hands on, is a treatise concerning 'the empire of beauty,' and the effects it has had in all nations of the world, upon the public and private actions of men; […]
The preacher […] who can say any thing new or striking, any thing that rouses the attention, without offending the taste, or wearing out the feelings of his hearers, is a man whom one could not (in his public capacity) honour enough.
gloss: Of an object: accessible to the program in general, not only to a class or subclass.
pos: adj
tags: broadly
not-comparable
gloss: Pertaining to nations collectively, or to nations regarded as civilized; international, supernational.
pos: adj
tags: archaic
examples: […] Nicodemus had not affirmed him [Jesus] to be a prophete, but ſayde: whoſoeuer he be, he ought not after our common, or rather publike law, (that is to ſaye, a lawe which indifferently perteyneth to all men of euery ſtate) to be condemned, except his cauſe be knowen before.
[S]uch a one concerns himſelf very needleſsly for almoſt all the publique Quarrels in Chriſtendome, and ſhevvs himſelf zealous for a party vvhich vvill receive no advantage by his diſquiets; […]
gloss: Now chiefly in public spirit and public-spirited: seeking to further the best interests or well-being of the community or nation.
pos: adj
tags: archaic
examples: [T]he ſaid [Joseph] Palumbo vvas reſtrain'd to Saint Lorenzo; but being a popular man, and one knovvn to be a good Patriot, and of a publick ſoul, and a perſon of integrity; there vvere four thouſand of the beſt armed men joyn'd together, to vindicate and free the ſaid Palumbo, […]
Suppoſe I ſhou'd ſtrike firſt, vvou'd it not breed / Grief in your publick heart to ſee her bleed?
As thus vve talk'd, / Our hearts vvould burn vvithin us, vvould inhale / That portion of divinity, that ray / Of pureſt heaven, vvhich lights the public ſoul / Of patriots, and of heroes.
Napoleon had been the first man of the world, if his ends had been purely public.
gloss: Now only in public figure: famous, prominent, well-known.
pos: adj
tags: archaic
examples: I VVas not ſo publick here, as to be very vvell knovvn, at leaſt by any one that had Knovvledge of me in the Country vvhere I liv'd; and this vvas indeed my ſafety aftervvard, as you vvill ſoon hear; […]
gloss: In some older universities in the United Kingdom: open or pertaining to the whole university, as opposed to a constituent college or an individual staff member or student.
pos: adj
tags: UK
historical
examples: I meruailled, why himſelf [Niccolò Leoniceno] did not practiſe Phiſike of whiche facultee he was a Doctour, and a publique reader: I auaile moche more, ſaieth he, in that I teach all thother Phiſiciãs [physicians].
gloss: Of or pertaining to the human race as a whole; common, universal.
pos: adj
tags: obsolete
examples: In Iron Clouds conceal'd the Publick Light: / And Impious Mortals fear'd Eternal Night.
In the squares and places you see half-a-dozen of them together, sitting in a social circle on the bottoms of upturned baskets, knitting, talking, and enjoying the public sunshine, as if it were their own household fire.
gloss: Chiefly in make public: of a work: printed or otherwise published.
pos: adj
tags: obsolete
examples: The firſt of his [Hernán Cortés's] diſpatches has never been made public. It vvas ſent from Vera-Cruz, July 16th, 1519.
Antonyms: nonpublic
private
unpublic
Related words: people
population
pub
publican
publication
publicise
publicize
publicist
publicity
publish
republic
Derived words: AKPM
certified public accountant
counterpublic
go public
initial public offering
in public
make a public spectacle of oneself
nobody ever went broke underestimating the good taste of the American public
nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public
nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public
nonpublic
non-public
no one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public
no one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public
notary public
online public access catalog
overpublic
parapublic
prepublic
pubcaster
pubcasting
public access
public access television
public address system
public administration
publical
publically
publican
public art
public assistance
public authorities
public authority
public body
public bookcase
public charge
public comment
public convenience
public credit
public curiosity
public debt
public defender
public diplomacy
public display of affection
public domain
public domainness
public enemy
public enemy number one
public eye
public figure
public finance
public Friend
public funds
public good
public health
public health funeral
Public Health System
public hearing
public-hearted
public historian
public history
public holiday
public hotel
public-house
public house
public housing
public image
public indecency
public information officer
public intellectual
public interest
public international law
public intoxication
public Ivy
publicization
public key
public key certificate
public-key cryptography
public key cryptography
public knowledge
public law
public leaning post
public library
public licence
public license
public life
public limited company
public limited liability company
publicly
publicly held
public-minded
publicness
public object objectum
public offering
public office
public officer
public opinion
public orator
public ownership
public place
public policy
public pretender
public-private partnership
public private partnership
public property
public prosecutor
public purse
public record
public relations
public-relations
public rhetoric
public safety announcement
public-school
public school
public-sector
public sector
public security
public servant
public service
public service announcement
public space
public speaker
public speaking
public spending
public sphere pedagogy
public spirit
public-spirited
public square
public telephone
public television
public toilet
public transit
public transport
public transportation
public trust
public trustee
public utility
public utility bus
public utility jeepney
public utility van
public utility vehicle
public walk
public woman
public works
quasipublic
semipublic
unpublic
weal-public
Translations:
lang: Albanian
word: publik
lang: Arabic
word: عُمُومِيّ
roman: ʕumūmiyy
lang: Armenian
word: հասարակական
roman: hasarakakan
lang: Azerbaijani
word: açıq
lang: Azerbaijani
word: ellik
lang: Azerbaijani
word: ictimai
lang: Azerbaijani
word: ümumi
lang: Bashkir
word: асыҡ
roman: asıq
lang: Belarusian
word: публі́чны
roman: publíčny
lang: Belarusian
word: грама́дскі
roman: hramádski
lang: Belarusian
word: грама́дзкі
roman: hramádzki
lang: Bulgarian
word: обще́ствен
roman: obštéstven
lang: Bulgarian
word: публи́чен
roman: publíčen
lang: Chinese Cantonese
word: 公共
roman: gung¹ gung⁶
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 公共
roman: gōnggòng
lang: Czech
word: veřejný
lang: Danish
word: offentlig
lang: Dutch
word: publiek
lang: Dutch
word: openbaar
lang: Esperanto
word: publika
lang: Finnish
word: julkinen
lang: Finnish
word: yleinen
lang: French
word: public
lang: Georgian
word: საყოველთაო
roman: saq̇oveltao
lang: Georgian
word: საჯარო
roman: saǯaro
lang: German
word: öffentlich
lang: Greek
word: δημόσιος
roman: dimósios
lang: Greek
word: κοινός
roman: koinós
lang: Ancient Greek
word: δημόσιος
roman: dēmósios
lang: Hebrew
word: ציבורי
lang: Hebrew
word: צִבּוּרִי
roman: tsiburí
lang: Hindi
word: सार्वजनिक
roman: sārvajnik
lang: Hungarian
word: köz-
lang: Hungarian
word: közösségi
lang: Hungarian
word: nyilvános
lang: Indonesian
word: umum
lang: Irish
word: poiblí
lang: Italian
word: pubblico
lang: Japanese
word: 公共
roman: kōkyō
lang: Kazakh
word: қоғамдық
roman: qoğamdyq
lang: Khmer
word: សាធារណៈ
roman: saathiərĕəʼnaʼ
lang: Korean
word: 공공(公共)의
roman: gonggong-ui
lang: Kyrgyz
word: коомдук
roman: koomduk
lang: Latin
word: publicus
lang: Macedonian
word: јавен
roman: javen
lang: Māori
word: tūmatanui
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: offentlig
lang: Iranian Persian
word: عُمومی
roman: omumi
lang: Iranian Persian
word: عَوامی
roman: avâmi
lang: Polish
word: publiczny
lang: Portuguese
word: público
lang: Romanian
word: public
lang: Russian
word: публи́чный
roman: publíčnyj
lang: Russian
word: обще́ственный
roman: obščéstvennyj
lang: Russian
word: откры́тый
roman: otkrýtyj
lang: Scottish Gaelic
word: poblach
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: ја̑внӣ
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: jȃvnī
lang: Slovak
word: verejný
lang: Slovene
word: javen
lang: Spanish
word: público
lang: Swedish
word: offentlig
lang: Tagalog
word: pangmadla
lang: Tajik
word: ҷамъиятӣ
roman: jam'iyati
lang: Tatar
word: ачык
roman: açıq
lang: Telugu
word: బాహాటము
roman: bāhāṭamu
lang: Ukrainian
word: публі́чний
roman: publíčnyj
lang: Ukrainian
word: грома́дський
roman: hromádsʹkyj
lang: Urdu
word: عَوامی
roman: 'avāmī
lang: Urdu
word: پَبْلِک
roman: pablik
lang: Urdu
word: عُمُومی
roman: 'umūmī
lang: Vietnamese
word: công cộng
lang: Zazaki
word: sariye