Link Centre Dictionary

public

pub·lic

UK/ˈpʊb.lɪk/ US/ˈpʌb.lɪk/ very common informal uk us
adjective (2) noun (2)

adjective

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”
Antonyms
Similar
2.

affecting the people or community as a whole

  • “community leaders”
  • “community interests”
  • “the public welfare”
Similar

noun

1.

people in general considered as a whole

  • “he is a hero in the eyes of the public”
Synonyms
2.

a body of people sharing some common interest

  • “the reading public”

Origin

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.

Phrases

  • attentive public
  • certified public accountant
  • general public
  • go public
  • in public
  • initial public offering
  • Joe Public
  • John Q. Public
  • make a public spectacle of oneself
  • member of the public
  • nobody ever went broke underestimating the good taste of the American public
  • nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

See also

Part of

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.