privacy English · revision 5688

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 1450}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈprɪv.ə.si/, /ˈpraɪ.və.si/, US /ˈpraɪ.və.si/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed [[af|en|private|-cy]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002) Middle English privacie.^(MWU 2024) An earlier word was privatie, a secret or solitude, from Old French privauté.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The state of being withdrawn from others: about 1450 in the OED, the 15th century in MWU.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) Barnhart and Etymonline give 1591 for a private matter or secret.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A private matter or secret, and in the plural private affairs, is from 1591.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) Seclusion, withdrawal from company, is in Shakespeare's ''Troilus and Cressida'' (1598–1601),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and the avoidance of publicity or display in ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' about 1600.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) Private rooms and places of retreat (1678) and the private parts (1656) are obsolete senses.^(OED 1989) The state of being free from intrusion or public attention is from 1814,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and freedom from unauthorized intrusion into one's affairs, now often of personal data, is a modern sense.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1450 – seclusion.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1591 – a secret.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1600 – avoidance of publicity.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1656 – the private parts (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1814 – freedom from intrusion.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The state of being alone or away from the attention of others; [[seclusion]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Freedom from unwanted intrusion, for example into one's personal [[information]].^(AHD)

+ # [[secrecy|alt=Secrecy]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[invasion of privacy]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[private]]

+ * [[privy]]

+ * [[deprive]]

+ * [[privilege]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Both /ˈprɪv.ə.si/ and /ˈpraɪ.və.si/ are heard in Britain, while American English uses /ˈpraɪ.və.si/.^(Roach et al. 2011)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}