Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Privy
1.
Of or pertaining to some person exclusively; assigned to private uses; not public; private;
“ Privee knights and squires.” as, the
. privy
purseChaucer.
2.
Secret; clandestine.
“ A privee thief.” Chaucer.
3.
Appropriated to retirement; private; not open to the public.
“ Privy chambers.” Ezek. xxi. 14.
4.
Admitted to knowledge of a secret transaction; secretly cognizant; privately knowing.
His wife also being
privy
to it. Acts v. 2.
Myself am one made
privy
to the plot. Shakespeare
Privy chamber
, a private apartment in a royal residence.
[Eng.]
– Privy council
(Eng. Law)
, the principal council of the sovereign, composed of the cabinet ministers and other persons chosen by the king or queen.
Burrill.
– Privy councilor
, a member of the privy council.
– Privy purse
, moneys set apart for the personal use of the monarch; also, the title of the person having charge of these moneys.
[Eng.]
Macaulay.
– Privy seal
or Privy signet
the seal which the king uses in grants, etc., which are to pass the great seal, or which he uses in matters of subordinate consequence which do not require the great seal; also,
elliptically,
the principal secretary of state, or person intrusted with the privy seal. [Eng.]
– Privy verdict
, a verdict given privily to the judge out of court; – now disused.
Burrill.
Priv′y
,Noun.
pl.
Privies
. 1.
(Law)
A partaker; a person having an interest in any action or thing; one who has an interest in an estate created by another; a person having an interest derived from a contract or conveyance to which he is not himself a party. The term, in its proper sense, is distinguished from party.
Burrill.
Wharton.
Webster 1828 Edition
Privy
PRIV'Y
,Adj.
1.
Private; pertaining to some person exclusively; assigned to private uses; not public; as the privy purse; the privy confer of a king.2.
Secret; clandestine; not open or public; as a privy attempt to kill one.3.
Private; appropriated to retirement; not shown; not open for the admission of company; as a privy chamber. Ezek.21.4.
Privately knowing; admitted to the participation of knowledge with another of a secret transaction. He would rather lose half of his kingdom than be privy to such a secret.
Myself am one made privy to the plot.
His wife also being privy to it. Acts.5.
5.
Admitted to secrets of state. The privy council of a king consists of a number of distinguished persons selected by him to advice him in the administration of the government.A privy verdict, is one given to the judge out of court, which is of no force unless afterward affirmed by a public verdict in court.
PRIV'Y
,Noun.
1.
A necessary house.Privy chamber, in Great Britain, the private apartment in a royal residence or mansion. Gentlemen of the privy chamber are servants of the king who are to wait and attend on him and the queen at court, in their diversions, &c. They are forty eight in number, under the lord chamberlain.
Definition 2024
privy
privy
See also: přivý
English
Adjective
privy (comparative more privy, superlative most privy)
- (now chiefly historical) Private, exclusive; not public; one's own.
- The king retreated to his privy chamber.
- the privy purse
- (now rare, archaic) Secret, hidden, concealed.
- 1967, William Styron, The Confessions of Nat Turner, Vintage 2004, p. 82:
- Nonetheless, in the dark and privy stillness of our minds there are few of us who are not still haunted by worrisome doubts.
- 1967, William Styron, The Confessions of Nat Turner, Vintage 2004, p. 82:
- With knowledge of; party to; let in on.
- He was privy to the discussions.
Translations
private, exclusive
with knowledge of; party to; let in on
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Noun
privy (plural privies)
- An outdoor facility for urination and defecation, whether open (latrine) or enclosed (outhouse).
- A lavatory: a room with a toilet.
- A toilet: a fixture used for urination and defecation.
- 1864 January 26, J.G. Lindsay, letter to P.P.L. O'Connel, §8:
- Arconum—I found two chairs wanting in the gentlemen's room, and the bath room attached applied to other purposes... the privies and urinaries clean...
- 1864 January 26, J.G. Lindsay, letter to P.P.L. O'Connel, §8:
- (law) A partaker; one having an interest in an action, contract, etc. to which he is not himself a party.
Synonyms
- (latrine, outhouse, or lavatory): See Wikisaurus:bathroom
- (fixture): See Wikisaurus:toilet
Derived terms
Translations
latrine — see latrine
outhouse — see outhouse
lavatory or toilet — see toilet
a partaker
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