publicity

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /pʌbˈlɪs.ə.ti/, US /pʌbˈlɪs.ə.t̬i/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French publicité (1690s),^[2][3][4] from Medieval Latin pūblicitās,^[3] from Latin pūblicus (see public) and -ité (see -ity).^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The condition of being public or open to observation: 1791 in Barnhart, Etymonline and the OED;^[2][3][5] Merriam-Webster gives 1609.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The act of making something publicly known, public notice, is first recorded in 1826, in Audubon's journal,^[2][3] and shaded by about 1900 into advertising and the business of promotion.^[3] A publicity stunt is recorded by 1908,^[3] and compounds such as publicity agent from 1911.^[5] Publicize is from 1928.^[2]

Timeline

• 1791 – the state of being public.^[2][3]
• 1826 – public notice.^[2][3]
• c. 1900 – advertising, promotion.^[3]
• 1908 – publicity stunt.^[3]
• 1928 – publicize.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Information spread through the media to attract public notice to a person, product or event.
2. Public interest or notice gained in this way.
3. The work or business of attracting public attention; promotion.

Word family

• nonpublicity
• overpublicity

Related words

• public
• publicist
• publicness
• publicize
• publish

References

1. ^ 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 g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press