n.
Pronunciation: ' pri-v ə -t ē
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -ties
Etymology: Middle English privite privacy, secret, from Anglo-French priveté, from Medieval Latin privitat-, privatas, from Latin privus private ― more at PRIVATE
Date: 1523
1 a : a relationship between persons who successively have a legal interest in the same right or property b : an interest in a transaction, contract, or legal action to which one is not a party arising out of a relationship to one of the parties
2 : private or joint knowledge of a private matter especially : cognizance implying concurrence