privy

privy
adj. & n.
—adj.
1 (foll. by to) sharing in the secret of (a person's plans etc.).
2 archaic hidden, secret.
—n. (pl. -ies)
1 US or archaic a lavatory.
2 Law a person having a part or interest in any action, matter, or thing.
Phrases and idioms:
Privy Council 1 (in the UK) a body of advisers appointed by the sovereign (now chiefly on an honorary basis and including present and former government ministers etc.).
2 usu. hist. a sovereign's or governor-general's private counsellors. privy counsellor (or councillor) a private adviser, esp. a member of a Privy Council.
privy purse Brit.
1 an allowance from the public revenue for the monarch's private expenses.
2 the keeper of this. privy seal (in the UK) a seal formerly affixed to documents that are afterwards to pass the Great Seal or that do not require it.
Derivatives:
privily adv.
Etymology: ME f. OF priveacute f. L privatus PRIVATE

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Privy — Priv y, a. [F. priv[ e], fr. L. privatus. See {Private}.] [1913 Webster] 1. Of or pertaining to some person exclusively; assigned to private uses; not public; private; as, the privy purse. Privee knights and squires. Chaucer. [1913 Webster] 2.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • privy — / pri vē/ n pl priv·ies [Anglo French privé, from Old French, intimate, confidant, from privé intimate, familiar, from Latin privatus private]: one having privity; esp: one who acquires an interest in the subject matter (as property) of prior or… …   Law dictionary

  • Privy — may refer to: * Privy council * Privy purse * outhouse * Privity …   Wikipedia

  • privy — [priv′ē] adj. [ME < OFr prive < L privatus, PRIVATE] 1. Obs. private; not public: now only in such phrases as PRIVY COUNCIL 2. Archaic hidden, secret, furtive, etc. n. pl. privies 1. a toilet; esp., an outhouse …   English World dictionary

  • privy to — allowed to know about (something secret) I wasn t privy to their plans. [=I didn t know about their plans] • • • Main Entry: ↑privy …   Useful english dictionary

  • privy — [adj1] secret buried, concealed, confidential, covert, hidden, hush hush*, obscured, off the record*, personal, private, separate, shrouded, ulterior; concepts 267,576 Ant. known, public, revealed privy [adj2] aware acquainted, apprised,… …   New thesaurus

  • privy — ► ADJECTIVE (privy to) ▪ sharing in the knowledge of (something secret). ► NOUN (pl. privies) ▪ a toilet in a small shed outside a house. DERIVATIVES privily adverb. ORIGIN Old French prive private , also private place , from Latin priva …   English terms dictionary

  • Privy — Priv y, n.; 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… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • privy to — index familiar (informed) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • privy — A person who is in privity with another. One who is a partaker or has any part or interest in any action, matter, or thing. In connection with the doctrine of res judicata, one who, after the commencement of the action, has acquired an interest… …   Black's law dictionary

  • privy — {{11}}privy (adj.) private, early 13c., from O.Fr. privé, from L. privatus (see PRIVATE (Cf. private)). Meaning participating in a secret (usually with to) is attested from late 14c. Privy Council is from c.1300 in a general sense; specifically… …   Etymology dictionary

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