English

Alternative forms

• prively (obsolete)
• priuely (obsolete)
• pryvely (obsolete)
• pryuely (obsolete)

Adverb

privily ‎(comparative more privily, superlative most privily)

1. (archaic) Secretly, in secret; in a private manner; privately.
   • 1478, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, Prologue, 611-614

     Ful riche he was astored pryvely: / His lord wel koude he plesen subtilly, / To yeve and lene hym of his owene good, / And have a thank, and yet a cote and hood.

   • 1594, Christopher Marlowe, Edward II, Act II, Scene 2,

     Gaveston: Why do you not commit him to the Tower?

     King Edward: I dare not, for the people love him well.

     Gaveston: Why, then we'll have him privily made away.

   • 1595, William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 3, Act I, Scene 2,

     Thou, Richard, shalt to the Duke of Norfolk, / And tell him privily of our intent.

   • 1608, Thomas Dekker, The Belman of London, in The Guls Hornbook and The Belman of London, J.M. Dent & Sons, 1936, p. 100,

     […] to cause that foaming in their mouthes, which is fearefull to behold by the standers by, they have this trick, privily to convey a peece of white soape into one corner of their Jawes, which causeth that froth to come boyling forth.

   • 1611, Bible (KJV), Matthew 1:19:,

     Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.

   • 1653, François Rabelais, The Works of Rabelais, translated by Thomas Urquhart, London: Chatto & Windus, 1873, Book I, Chapter LII, p. 105

     Item, because in the convents of women, men come not but underhand, privily, and by stealth; it was therefore enacted, that in this house there shall be no women in case there be not men, nor men in case there be not women.

   • 1785, "An Act for the punishing and preventing of Larcenies" in The Perpetual Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, from the Establishment of its Constitution in the Year 1780, to the End of the Year 1800, Boston, 1801, Vol. 1, p. 23,

     That if any person shall be convicted of feloniously stealing any of the before mentioned articles from the person of another, whether privily and without his knowledge, or openly and avowedly before his face, he shall be deemed guilty of an higher species of larceny […]

   • 1949, Sinclair Lewis, The God-Seeker, New York, Popular Library, Chapter 36, p. 196,

     They moved camp in the morning, without breakfast except for a crumbling chunk of dry pemmican which Aaron chewed privily.

   • 1999, George RR Martin, A Clash of Kings, Bantam 2011, p. 398:

     ‘I have tidings I know you will be anxious to hear, sweet sister, but they are best spoken of privily.’