public

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   Able to be known or seen by everyone

   Able to be known or seen by everyone; happening without concealment; open to general view.

   • 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?
2. 2

   Open to all members of a community, as opposed to only a segment of it

   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.

   • 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.
3. 3

   Pertaining to the people as a whole, as opposed to a group of people

   Pertaining to the people as a whole, as opposed to a group of people; concerning the whole community or country.

   • [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.
4. ›+ 17 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      Officially representing the community

      Officially representing the community; carried out or funded by the government or state on behalf of the community, rather than by a private organization.

      • public housing    public officer    public prosecutor    public servant
   2. 5

      Pertaining to a person in the capacity in which they deal with other people on a formal…

      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.

      • 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.
   3. 6

      Of an object

      Of an object: accessible to the program in general, not only to a class or subclass.

   4. 7

      Pertaining to nations collectively, or to nations regarded as civilized

      Pertaining to nations collectively, or to nations regarded as civilized; international, supernational.

      • [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; […]
   5. 8

      Now chiefly in public spirit and public-spirited

      Now chiefly in public spirit and public-spirited: seeking to further the best interests or well-being of the community or nation.

      • 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.
   6. 9

      Now only in public figure

      Now only in public figure: famous, prominent, well-known.

      • 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; […]
   7. 10

      In some older universities in the United Kingdom

      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.

      • 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].
   8. 11

      Of or pertaining to the human race as a whole

      Of or pertaining to the human race as a whole; common, universal.

      • 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.
   9. 12

      Chiefly in make public

      Chiefly in make public: of a work: printed or otherwise published.

      • The firſt of his [Hernán Cortés's] diſpatches has never been made public. It vvas ſent from Vera-Cruz, July 16th, 1519.
   10. 13

       Chiefly preceded by the

       Chiefly preceded by the: members of the community or the people in general, regardless of membership of any particular group.

       • Members of the public may not proceed beyond this point.
       • In ſũ [sum], you are a Prince, & a father of people, vvho ought vvith the eye of vviſdome, the hand of fortitude, and the hart of iuſtice to ſet dovvne all priuate conceits, in compariſon of vvhat for the publike is profitable.
       • Here, you, the ſad reuengers / Of capitall crimes, againſt the Publicke, take / This man vnto your iuſtice: ſtrangle him.
   11. 14

       Preceded by a possessive determiner such as my, your, or their

       Preceded by a possessive determiner such as my, your, or their: a group of people who support a particular person, especially a performer, a writer, etc.; an audience, a following.

   12. 15

       Ellipsis of public house or (dated) public bar (“an inn, a pub

       Ellipsis of public house or (dated) public bar (“an inn, a pub: the more basic bar in a public house, as contrasted with the lounge bar or saloon bar which has more comfortable seats, personalized service, etc.”).

       • [T]hese inconsiderate lads will be out of the house, and away to the publicks, wasting their precious time, and, it may be, missing the morning tide.
       • [I]t is a terrible long and slippery descent, and a shocking bad road. At the bottom, however, there is a pleasant public; whereat we must really take a modest quencher, for the down air is provocative of thirst.
       • The bar-parlour at the Green Man was in the oldest part of the pub. It lay at right angles to the Public which was partly visible and could be reached from it by means of a flap in the bar counter.
   13. 16

       Often preceded by the and a qualifying word

       Often preceded by the and a qualifying word: a particular demographic or group of people, or segment of the population, sharing some common characteristic.

       • the cinema-going public
       • the reading public
   14. 17

       At Harvard University

       At Harvard University: a penalty imposed on a student involving a grade reduction which is communicated to the student's parents or guardian.

   15. 18

       Chiefly in in public

       Chiefly in in public: the presence of spectators or people generally; the open.

       • Come follovv vs, / VVe are to ſpeake in publique: for this buſineſſe / VVill raiſe vs all.
       • [S]he ſcolded me for I believe tvvo hours, on account of having left her, […] But ſhe aſſured me, that if ever I did ſo again, ſhe vvould never more take me into public.
   16. 19

       To make (something) openly or widely known

       To make (something) openly or widely known; to publicize, to publish.

       • [H]e is such a barefooted rubber with my supersocks pulled over his face which I publicked in my bestback garden for the laetification of siderodromites and to the irony of the stars.
   17. 20

       An internet publication.

       • Russian publics report that the fighters of the Wagner group have already practically taken possession of Soledar, there are fights on the outskirts, where the Vushniks are trying to fight back in the salt mines.

The neighborhood

• antonymnonpublic
• antonymprivate
• antonymunpublic
• neighborpeople
• neighborpopulation
• neighborpub
• neighborpublican
• neighborpublication
• neighborpublicise
• neighborpublicize
• neighborpublicist
• neighborpublicity
• neighborpublish
• neighborrepublic