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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

priv·y       (prĭv'ē)  Pronunciation Key  adj.   Made a participant in knowledge of something private or secret: was privy to classified information. Belonging or proper to a person, such as the British sovereign, in a private rather than official capacity. Secret; concealed. n.   pl. priv·ies An outdoor toilet; an outhouse. A toilet. 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.]

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
privy  (adj.)

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]

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: privy
Pronunciation: 'pri-vE
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural priv·ies
Etymology: Anglo-French privé, from Old French, intimate, confidant, from privé intimate, familiar, from Latin privatus private
: one having privity; especially : one who acquires an interest in the subject matter (as property) of prior or pending litigation and is bound by the judgment as if he or she were a party to the action

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Privy

Priv"y\, a. [F. priv['e], fr. L. privatus. See Private.]

1. Of or pertaining to some person exclusively; assigned to private uses; not public; private; as, the privy purse. " Privee knights and squires." --Chaucer.

2. Secret; clandestine. " A privee thief." --Chaucer.

3. Appropriated to retirement; private; not open to the public. " Privy chambers." --Ezek. xxi. 14.

4. Admitted to knowledge of a secret transaction; secretly cognizant; privately knowing.

His wife also being privy to it. --Acts v. 2.

Myself am one made privy to the plot. --Shak.

Privy chamber, a private apartment in a royal residence. [Eng.]

Privy council (Eng. Law), the principal council of the sovereign, composed of the cabinet ministers and other persons chosen by the king or queen. --Burrill.

Privy councilor, a member of the privy council.

Privy purse, moneys set apart for the personal use of the monarch; also, the title of the person having charge of these moneys. [Eng.] --Macaulay.

Privy seal or signed, the seal which the king uses in grants, etc., which are to pass the great seal, or which the uses in matters of subordinate consequence which do not require the great seal; also, elliptically, the principal secretary of state, or person intrusted with the privy seal. [Eng.]

Privy verdict, a verdict given privily to the judge out of court; -- now disused. --Burrill.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Privy

Priv"y\, n.; pl. Privies. 1. (Law) A partaker; a person having an interest in any action or thing; one who has an interest in an estate created by another; a person having an interest derived from a contract or conveyance to which he is not himself a party. The term, in its proper sense, is distinguished from party. --Burrill. Wharton.

2. A necessary house or place; a backhouse.