# private

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈpɹaɪ.vɪt/ · frequency rank #661

## Definitions
1. Belonging or pertaining to an individual person, group of people, or entity that is not the state.
2. Relating to an individual or group of individuals outside of their official roles; often, sensitive or personal.
3. Not publicly known or divulged; secret, confidential; (of a message) intended only for a specific person or group.
4. Protected from view or disturbance by others; secluded; not publicly accessible.
5. Not in governmental office or employment.
6. Secretive; reserved.
7. Not traded by the public.
8. Of a room in a medical facility, not shared with another patient.
9. Financially reliant on fees rather than government funding.
10. Accessible only to the class itself or instances of it, and not to other classes or even subclasses.
11. Of the mind or language, not in principle experienceable, knowable, or understandable by others.

## Etymology
From Middle English privat(e) (“individual, exclusive, private”), from Latin prīvātus (“bereaved, deprived, set apart from, release”), perfect passive participle of prīvō (“to bereave, deprive, release”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) for more), from prīvus (“private, one's own, proper”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per; compare prime, prior, pristine. Doublet of privy.

## Easily confused with
- **probate** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/private-vs-probate)
- **privates** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/private-vs-privates)
- **privately** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/private-vs-privately)
- **pirate** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pirate-vs-private)
- **Pilate** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pilate-vs-private)
- **privacy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/privacy-vs-private)
- **primate** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/primate-vs-private)
- **prelate** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/prelate-vs-private)
- **predate** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/predate-vs-private)
- **primates** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/primates-vs-private)

## Common misspellings (10)
`pirvate`, `pprivate`, `priavte`, `privaet`, `privatte`, `privtae`, `privvate`, `prrivate`, `prviate`, `rpivate`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/private