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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
priv·y    Audio Help   [priv-ee] Pronunciation Key adjective, priv·i·er, priv·i·est, noun, plural priv·ies.
–adjective
1.participating in the knowledge of something private or secret (usually fol. by to): Many persons were privy to the plot.
2.private; assigned to private uses.
3.belonging or pertaining to some particular person, esp. with reference to a sovereign.
4.secret, concealed, hidden, or secluded.
5.acting or done in secret.
–noun
6.outhouse (def. 1).
7.Law. a person participating directly in or having a derivative interest in a legal transaction.

[Origin: 1175–1225; ME prive < OF: private (adj.), close friend, private place (n.) < L prīvātus private]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Privy

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
priv·y    Audio Help   (prĭv'ē)  Pronunciation Key 
adj.  
  1. Made a participant in knowledge of something private or secret: was privy to classified information.
  2. Belonging or proper to a person, such as the British sovereign, in a private rather than official capacity.
  3. Secret; concealed.

n.   pl. priv·ies
    1. An outdoor toilet; an outhouse.
    2. A toilet.
  1. Law One of the parties having an interest in the same matter.


[Middle English prive, from Old French, from Latin prīvātus, private, from prīvus, single, alone; see per1 in Indo-European roots.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
privy  (adj.)
"private," c.1225, from O.Fr. privé, from L. privatus (see private). Meaning "participating in a secret" (usually with to) is attested from 1390. The noun meaning "toilet" is c.1225, from O.Fr. privé, from the adj. Privy Council is from c.1300 in a general sense; specifically of the British government, first attested 1375, as consaile priue.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
privy

adjective
1. hidden from general view or use; "a privy place to rest and think"; "a secluded romantic spot"; "a secret garden" 
2. (followed by 'to') informed about something secret or not generally known; "privy to the details of the conspiracy" 

noun
1. a room or building equipped with one or more toilets [syn: toilet
2. a small outbuilding with a bench having holes through which a user can defecate [syn: outhouse

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
privy [ˈprivi]
a group of statesmen appointed as advisers to a king or queen
Arabic: خاص، سِرّي، مُطَّلِع على السِّر
Chinese (Simplified): 英国枢密院
Chinese (Traditional): 英國樞密院
Czech: tajná rada
Danish: rådgivergruppe
Dutch: geheime raad
Estonian: riiginõukogu
Finnish: neuvosto
French: conseil privé
German: Geheimer Staatsrat
Greek: ανακτοβούλιο
Hungarian: királyi államtanács
Icelandic: einka-; hópur persónulegra rágjafa þjóðhöfðingja
Indonesian: penasihat
Italian: consiglio privato*
Japanese: 枢密院
Latvian: slepenā padome
Lithuanian: slaptoji taryba
Norwegian: politisk råd
Polish: rada stanu
Portuguese (Brazil): conselho privado
Portuguese (Portugal): conselho privado
Romanian: con­siliu de coroană
Russian: тайный совет
Slovak: tajná rada
Slovenian: državni svet
Spanish: consejo privado
Swedish: invigd, delaktig: riksråd
Turkish: danışmanlar kurulu
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Privy

Coun"cil\ (koun"s[i^]l), n. [F. concile, fr. L. concilium; con- + calare to call, akin to Gr. ??? to call, and E. hale, v., haul. Cf. Conciliate. This word is often confounded with counsel, with which it has no connection.]

1. An assembly of men summoned or convened for consultation, deliberation, or advice; as, a council of physicians for consultation in a critical case.

2. A body of man elected or appointed to constitute an advisory or a legislative assembly; as, a governor's council; a city council.

An old lord of the council rated me the other day. --Shak.

3. Act of deliberating; deliberation; consultation.

Satan . . . void of rest, His potentates to council called by night. --Milton.

O great in action and in council wise. --Pope.

Aulic council. See under Aulic.

Cabinet council. See under Cabinet.

City council, the legislative branch of a city government, usually consisting of a board of aldermen and common council, but sometimes otherwise constituted.

Common council. See under Common.

Council board, Council table, the table round which a council holds consultation; also, the council itself in deliberation.

Council chamber, the room or apartment in which a council meets.

Council fire, the ceremonial fire kept burning while the Indians hold their councils. [U.S.] --Bartlett.

Council of war, an assembly of officers of high rank, called to consult with the commander in chief in regard to measures or importance or nesessity.

Ecumenical council (Eccl.), an assembly of prelates or divines convened from the whole body of the church to regulate matters of doctrine or discipline.

Executive council, a body of men elected as advisers of the chief magistrate, whether of a State or the nation. [U.S.]

Legislative council, the upper house of a legislature, usually called the senate.

Privy council. See under Privy. [Eng.]

Syn: Assembly; meeting; congress; diet; parliament; convention; convocation; synod.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Privy

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) and akin to prae before. See Prior, a., and cf. Deprive, Privy, a.]

1. Belonging to, or concerning, an individual person, company, or interest; peculiar to one's self; unconnected with others; personal; one's own; not public; not general; separate; as, a man's private opinion; private property; a private purse; private expenses or interests; a private secretary.

2. Sequestered from company or observation; appropriated to an individual; secret; secluded; lonely; solitary; as, a private room or apartment; private prayer.

Reason . . . then retires Into her private cell when nature rests. --Milton.

3. Not invested with, or engaged in, public office or employment; as, a private citizen; private life. --Shak.

A private person may arrest a felon. --Blackstone.

4. Not publicly known; not open; secret; as, a private negotiation; a private understanding.

5. Having secret or private knowledge; privy. [Obs.]

Private act or statute, a statute exclusively for the settlement of private and personal interests, of which courts do not take judicial notice; -- opposed to a general law, which operates on the whole community .

Private nuisance or wrong. See Nuisance.

Private soldier. See Private, n., 5.

Private way, a right of private passage over another man's ground. --Kent.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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