privato Italian · revision 38155

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=late 12th century, Ritmo laurenziano|origins=la prīvus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /priˈva.to/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''privato''' (feminine privata, masculine plural privati, feminine plural private, superlative privatissimo)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|prīvātus|t=private, personal; set apart]], the past participle of [[m|la|prīvō|t=to deprive; to free]], from [[m|la|prīvus|t=one's own, single]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary) Nocentini explains the Latin word as “separated from others, isolated”, and Devoto as “exempted”.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto 1968|346) As a noun meaning “a private person”, the Latin word rendered [[grc|ἰδιώτης|tr=idiṓtēs]].^(DEI|3085)

+

+ The word is shared with [[fr|privé]] and [[es|privado]], and with [[oc|privat]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is the ''Ritmo laurenziano'', at the end of the 12th century, in the sense “belonging to the person himself or to the single person; not public”.^(DELI 1999) GRADIT dates the word before 1292.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Guittone d'Arezzo uses the noun for a private citizen, and in the 14th century the adjective also meant “secret, hidden” and “intimate, familiar”; the feminine ''privata'' was once a secret stairway.^(DEI|3085)^(Zingarelli 2010) Brunetto Latini writes of the quarrels of ''private persone'', people without public office.^(GDLI|14, 401)

+

+ In modern Italian the word is above all the opposite of ''pubblico'': private schools, firms and broadcasters, and private law.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011) The noun ''il privato'' has come to mean one's private life and also the private sector.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Derivatives include ''privatista'' (1829), ''privatizzare'' (1963) and ''privatizzazione'' (1965).^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 12th century – The ''Ritmo laurenziano'' has ''privato''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 13th century – Guittone d'Arezzo uses the noun for a private citizen.^(DEI|3085)

+ * Before 1313 – Dante uses ''privato'' for a latrine.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1829 – ''Privatista'' is recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1963 – ''Privatizzare'' is recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1965 – ''Privatizzazione'' is recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Not public; belonging to or run by individuals: ''Hanno parcheggiato in una strada privata.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Not open to the public, reserved to a few: ''una festa privata''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Personal, [[m|en|intimate]]: ''Non parla mai della sua vita privata.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # [[m|en|confidential|alt=Confidential]]: ''un colloquio privato''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # Of a person, acting as an individual and not in a public office: ''come privato cittadino''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Of a professional, working outside the state system or for a single person: ''un insegnante privato''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(obsolete)'' Secret, hidden; special.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A private [[m|en|citizen]] or individual: ''La casa è in vendita da privato.''^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Private life; [[m|en|privacy]]: ''in privato''.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The private sector of the economy.^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[privatamente]]

+ * [[privatista]]

+ * [[privatistico]]

+ * [[privatizzare]]

+ * [[privatizzazione]]

+ * [[privatezza]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[privare]]

+ * [[privo]]

+ * [[privativo]]

+ * [[privativa]]

+ * [[la|prīvātus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ An obsolete noun ''privato'' meant a [[m|en|latrine]] or sewer;^(GRADIT 2003)^(DEI|3085)^(REW 1935) GRADIT derives it from the adjective, and DEI compares Medieval Latin ''privatum'' (Bologna, 1250) and Spanish and Portuguese ''privada''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(DEI|3085)^(REW 1935) Dante writes of filth “che da li uman privadi parea mosso” (“that seemed to have flowed from human privies”).^(GRADIT 2003)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) The expression ''in privato'' means “in private”.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}