From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
public
adj 1: not private; open to or concerning the people as a whole;
"the public good"; "public libraries"; "public funds";
"public parks"; "a public scandal"; "public gardens";
"performers and members of royal families are public
figures" [ant: private]
2: affecting the people or community as a whole; "community
leaders"; "community interests"; "the public welfare"
n 1: people in general considered as a whole; "he is a hero in
the eyes of the public" [syn: populace, world]
2: a body of people sharing some common interest; "the reading
public"
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Public \Pub"lic\, a. [L. publicus, poblicus, fr. populus people:
cf. F. public. See People.]
1. Of or pertaining to the people; belonging to the people;
relating to, or affecting, a nation, state, or community;
-- opposed to private; as, the public treasury.
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To the public good
Private respects must yield. --Milton.
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He [Alexander Hamilton] touched the dead corpse of
the public credit, and it sprung upon its feet. --D.
Webster.
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2. Open to the knowledge or view of all; general; common;
notorious; as, public report; public scandal.
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Joseph, . . . not willing to make her a public
example, was minded to put her away privily. --Matt.
i. 19.
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3. Open to common or general use; as, a public road; a public
house. "The public street." --Shak.
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public act or public statute (Law), an act or statute
affecting matters of public concern. Of such statutes the
courts take judicial notice.
Public credit. See under Credit.
Public funds. See Fund, 3.
Public house, an inn, or house of entertainment.
Public law.
(a) See International law, under International.
(b) A public act or statute.
Public nuisance. (Law) See under Nuisance.
Public orator. (Eng. Universities) See Orator, 3.
Public stores, military and naval stores, equipments, etc.
Public works, all fixed works built by civil engineers for
public use, as railways, docks, canals, etc.; but
strictly, military and civil engineering works constructed
at the public cost.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Public \Pub"lic\, n.
1. The general body of mankind, or of a nation, state, or
community; the people, indefinitely; as, the American
public; also, a particular body or aggregation of people;
as, an author's public.
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The public is more disposed to censure than to
praise. --Addison.
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2. A public house; an inn. [Scot.] --Sir W. Scott.
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In public, openly; before an audience or the people at
large; not in private or secrecy. "We are to speak in
public." --Shak.
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