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privacy

Etymology and origin of the English word privacy

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1450
Ultimate origins
Latin (privatus)English (-cy)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin privatus
English private
English privacy

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈprɪv.ə.si/, /ˈpraɪ.və.si/, US /ˈpraɪ.və.si/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English private + -cy,[2][3][4][5] Middle English privacie.[4] An earlier word was privatie, a secret or solitude, from Old French privauté.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The state of being withdrawn from others: about 1450 in the OED, the 15th century in MWU.[6][4] Barnhart and Etymonline give 1591 for a private matter or secret.[3][2]

Semantic evolution

A private matter or secret, and in the plural private affairs, is from 1591.[6][3] Seclusion, withdrawal from company, is in Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida (1598–1601),[3][2] and the avoidance of publicity or display in The Merry Wives of Windsor about 1600.[3][6] Private rooms and places of retreat (1678) and the private parts (1656) are obsolete senses.[6] The state of being free from intrusion or public attention is from 1814,[6][2] and freedom from unauthorized intrusion into one's affairs, now often of personal data, is a modern sense.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 1450 – seclusion.[6]
  • 1591 – a secret.[6][3]
  • c. 1600 – avoidance of publicity.[3]
  • 1656 – the private parts (obsolete).[6]
  • 1814 – freedom from intrusion.[6][2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The state of being alone or away from the attention of others; seclusion.
  2. Freedom from unwanted intrusion, for example into one's personal information.
  3. Secrecy.

Word family

  • invasion of privacy

Usage notes

Both /ˈprɪv.ə.si/ and /ˈpraɪ.və.si/ are heard in Britain, while American English uses /ˈpraɪ.və.si/.[1][8]

References

  1. ^ a b Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Privacy.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/privacy. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·