From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Private \Pri"vate\ (?; 48), a. [L. privatus apart from the
state, peculiar to an individual, private, properly p. p. of
privare to bereave, deprive, originally, to separate, fr.
privus single, private, perhaps originally, put forward
(hence, alone, single) and akin to prae before. See Prior,
a., and cf. Deprive, Privy, a.]
1. Belonging to, or concerning, an individual person,
company, or interest; peculiar to one's self; unconnected
with others; personal; one's own; not public; not general;
separate; as, a man's private opinion; private property; a
private purse; private expenses or interests; a private
secretary.
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2. Sequestered from company or observation; appropriated to
an individual; secret; secluded; lonely; solitary; as, a
private room or apartment; private prayer.
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Reason . . . then retires
Into her private cell when nature rests. --Milton.
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3. Not invested with, or engaged in, public office or
employment; as, a private citizen; private life. --Shak.
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A private person may arrest a felon. --Blackstone.
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4. Not publicly known; not open; secret; as, a private
negotiation; a private understanding.
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5. Having secret or private knowledge; privy. [Obs.]
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Private act or Private statute, a statute exclusively for
the settlement of private and personal interests, of which
courts do not take judicial notice; -- opposed to a
general law, which operates on the whole community. In
the United States Congress, similar private acts are
referred to as private law and a general law as a
public law.
Private nuisance or wrong. See Nuisance.
Private soldier. See Private, n., 5.
Private way, a right of private passage over another man's
ground; also, a road on private land, contrasted with
public road, which is on a public right of way. --Kent.
[1913 Webster +PJC]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Private \Pri"vate\ (pr[imac]"v[asl]t), n.
1. A secret message; a personal unofficial communication.
[Obs.] --Shak.
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2. Personal interest; particular business.[Obs.]
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Nor must I be unmindful of my private. --B. Jonson.
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3. Privacy; retirement. [Archaic] "Go off; I discard you; let
me enjoy my private." --Shak.
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4. One not invested with a public office. [Archaic]
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What have kings, that privates have not too? --Shak.
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5. (Mil.) A common soldier; a soldier below the grade of a
noncommissioned officer. --Macaulay.
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6. pl. The private parts; the genitals.
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In private, secretly; not openly or publicly.
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From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
private
adj 1: confined to particular persons or groups or providing
privacy; "a private place"; "private discussions";
"private lessons"; "a private club"; "a private
secretary"; "private property"; "the former President is
now a private citizen"; "public figures struggle to
maintain a private life" [ant: public]
2: concerning things deeply private and personal; "private
correspondence"; "private family matters"
3: concerning one person exclusively; "we all have individual
cars"; "each room has a private bath" [syn: {individual(a)},
private]
4: not expressed; "secret (or private) thoughts" [syn: secret,
private]
n 1: an enlisted man of the lowest rank in the Army or Marines;
"our prisoner was just a private and knew nothing of value"
[syn: private, buck private, common soldier]