publicitas

Forms

pūblicitās f (genitive pūblicitātis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin pūblicus (“public, common”) + -tās, a noun of state formed in Medieval Latin.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The DMLBS records it only in a glossary, the Derivationes of Osbern of Gloucester, which lists it after publicus in the sense of the state or condition of being public or common.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Besides the glossary sense, Wiktionary gives it the meaning publicity, the state of being public.^[1] Through French publicité it is the source of English publicity, which first meant the condition of being open to the observation of a community and later came to mean advertising.^[3]

Timeline

• 1690s – French has publicité, from the Medieval Latin word.^[3]
• 1791 – English borrows it from French as publicity, “the state of being public”.^[3]
• 1826 – English publicity takes on the sense of making something known.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin) The state or condition of being public or common.^[2]
2. (New Latin) Publicity, openness to the public.^[1]

Related words

• English publicity

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com