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publicity

 - 3 dictionary results

pub⋅lic⋅i⋅ty

[puh-blis-i-tee]
–noun
1. extensive mention in the news media or by word of mouth or other means of communication.
2. public notice so gained.
3. the measures, process, or business of securing public notice.
4. information, articles, or advertisements issued to secure public notice or attention.
5. the state of being public, or open to general observation or knowledge.

Origin:
1785–95; < F publicité < ML pūblicitās. See public, -ity
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pub·lic·i·ty   (pŭ-blĭs'ĭ-tē)   
n.  
    1. Information that concerns a person, group, event, or product and that is disseminated through various media to attract public notice.

    2. Public interest, notice, or notoriety achieved by the spreading of such information.

    3. The act, process, or occupation of disseminating information to gain public interest.

  1. The condition of being public.


[French publicité, from public, public, from Old French; see public.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

publicity 
1791, "condition of being public," from Fr. publicité (1694), from M.L. publicitatem (nom. publicitas), from L. publicus (see public). Sense of "making something known, advertising" is from 1826. Publicity stunt first recorded 1926. Publicize first recorded 1928. Publicist (1792) is from Fr., originally "writer on current topics;" meaning "press agent" is from 1930.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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