public French · revision 17183

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1238 (publique)|origins=la pūblicus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /py.blik/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''public''' (feminine publique, masculine plural publics, feminine plural publiques)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French ''publique'' for both genders (1238); ''peuplique'' and ''puplique'' after Latin ''poplicus''.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi) The masculine ''public'' appears at the end of the 15th century.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|pūblicus|t=of the people or the State; of common use, common to all]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|9, 506b)^(Wiktionary) The Latin adjective goes with [[m|la|populus|t=people]] (see [[peuple]]); the TLFi, after Ernout and Meillet, holds that there is no etymological link, while Rey suggests a crossing of an unrecorded “*pūbicus”, from [[m|la|pūbēs|t=adult men]], with the archaic [[m|la|poplicus]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The masculine “public” was drawn from “publique”, which served for both genders until the 17th century.^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) The noun is the adjective used as a noun.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A 1238 Walloon document has ''paix et utilité publique'', of what concerns the people as a whole.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Bien publique'' is found in 1362 and ''la chose publique'', a calque of Latin ''res publica'', about 1355.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) About 1330 ''public'' meant known to all, in 1390 acting for everyone (''notaire publique''), and in 1538 common, open to all (''place publique'').^(TLFi) A ''femme publique'' (1539–49) or ''fille publique'' (1771) was a prostitute.^(TLFi) Public office and the State came next: ''charges et fonctions publiques'' (1585), ''homme public'' (1690), the opposition to ''privé''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ As a noun it meant the people in general from the 16th century and the audience of a show from the 17th.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Its use for readers or spectators is dated 1671 in the TLFi, but Quemada's datings find it in 1587.^(TLFi)^(BHVF)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1238 – ''Utilité publique''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1355 – ''La chose publique'', Bersuire.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1390 – ''Notaire publique''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1538 – ''Place publique'', Robert Estienne.^(TLFi)

+ * 1587 – ''Le public'', the reading public.^(BHVF)

+ * 1690 – ''Homme public'', Furetière.^(TLFi)

+ * 1771 – ''Fille publique''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of the people as a whole, of the community: ''l'intérêt public'', ''l'opinion publique'', ''l'ordre public''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Of the [[m|en|State]], run by the State, as opposed to ''privé'': ''le secteur public'', ''l'école publique'', ''la fonction publique''.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # Open to all: ''jardin public'', ''la voie publique''; done before others: ''une séance publique''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Known to all: ''de notoriété publique'', ''un homme public'', one in public life.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The [[m|en|public]], people in general: ''interdit au public'', ''le grand public''.^(TLFi)^(Larousse)

+ # An [[m|en|audience]], readership or clientele: ''le public d'un théâtre''.^(Larousse)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''En public'': in front of others.^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(familiar)'' The public sector: ''travailler dans le public''.^(Larousse)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[publiquement]]

+ * [[publicité]]

+ * [[publiciste]]

+ * [[semi-public]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[impubliable]]

+ * [[publication]]

+ * [[publier]]

+ * [[république]]

+ * [[peuple]]

+ * [[la|pūblicus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}