public

Where “public” sits in English frequency

Definition

1. 1
   Able to be known or seen by everyone; happening without concealment; open to general view.
2. 2
   Open to all members of a community, as opposed to only a segment of it; especially, provided by national or local authorities and supported by money from taxes.
3. 3
   Open to all members of a community, as opposed to only a segment of it; especially, provided by national or local authorities and supported by money from taxes.
4. 4
   Pertaining to the people as a whole, as opposed to a group of people; concerning the whole community or country.
5. 5
   Officially representing the community; carried out or funded by the government or state on behalf of the community, rather than by a private organization.
6. 6
   Pertaining to a person in the capacity in which they deal with other people on a formal or official basis, as opposed to a personal or private capacity; official, professional.
7. 7
   Of an object: accessible to the program in general, not only to a class or subclass.
8. 8
   Pertaining to nations collectively, or to nations regarded as civilized; international, supernational.
9. 9
   Now chiefly in public spirit and public-spirited: seeking to further the best interests or well-being of the community or nation.
10. 10
    Now only in public figure: famous, prominent, well-known.
11. 11
    In some older universities in the United Kingdom: open or pertaining to the whole university, as opposed to a constituent college or an individual staff member or student.
12. 12
    Of or pertaining to the human race as a whole; common, universal.
13. 13
    Chiefly in make public: of a work: printed or otherwise published.

Etymology

The adjective and noun are derived from Late Middle English publik, publike (“(adjective) generally observable, public; relating to the general public or public affairs; (noun) a generally observable place or situation”), from Anglo-Norman public, publik, publique, Middle French public, publique, and Old French public (“(adjective) generally observable, public; relating to the general public; official; (noun) community or its members collectively; nation, state; audience, spectators collectively”) (modern French public, publique (obsolete)); and from their etymon Latin pūblicus (“of or belonging to the community, people, or state; general, public”), an alteration of poplicus (influenced by pūbēs (“adult men; male population”)), from poplus (“community; the people, public; nation, state”) (later populus; from Proto-Italic *poplos (“army”); further origin uncertain, possibly from Etruscan or from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- (“to fill”)) + -icus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’). Related to people, populus, etc. The Middle English word displaced native Old English ceorlfolc and folclic. The verb is derived from the adjective.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: pbulic,ppublic,pubblic,pubilc,publci,publicc,publlic,pulbic,upblic

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of public - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

Frequently Asked Questions