| 释义 |
▪ I. public, a. (n.)|ˈpʌblɪk|
Forms: α. 5–6 publyke, 5–7 -ike, -ique, 6 -icque, -ycke, -yque, 6–7 -icke, Sc. -icte, 6–8 -ick, 7 -iq, 6– public. β. 5 puplik, 7 -icke, -ique.
[ME. publike, -ique, a. F. public (1311 in Hatz.-Darm.), ad. L. pūblicus, in early L. poplicus, f. poplus (later popul-us) people. (The change to pūblicus appears to have taken place under the influence of pūbes, in the sense ‘adult men’, ‘male population’.)]
A. adj. In general, and in most of the senses, the opposite of private.
The varieties of sense are numerous and pass into each other by many intermediate shades of meaning. The exact shade often depends upon the substantive qualified, and in some expressions more than one sense is vaguely present; in others the usage is traditional, and it is difficult to determine in what sense precisely the thing in question was originally called ‘public’.
I. Pertaining to the people of a country or locality.
1. Of or pertaining to the people as a whole; that belongs to, affects, or concerns the community or nation; common, national, popular.
1484Public administration [see administration 1]. 1513Bradshaw's St. Werburge, An other Balade to auctour 20 (E.E.T.S.) 201 One of thy clientes..Hath chaunged newly, o mayde..Thy legende latine to our language publique. 1563Winȝet Wks. (S.T.S.) II. 21 To..confound all, bayth priuat and publict, bayth hallowit and prophane. 1617Public health [see health n. 2 b]. 1632Sanderson Serm. Ep. Ded., Who..can out of private wrongs worke publike good. 1657Heylin Hist. Ref. I. ii. 23 The publique Liturgy in the vulgar tongue. 1673J. Ray Observations Journey Low-Countries 163 He is entrusted with the management of public monies. 1676in N. Brent Sarpi's Hist. Councel of Trent p. xiii, He was in the Publick Employment. 1687A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 241 In the month of November there was..at Caire..a publick Rejoicing, because the Turks had taken two Castles in Hungary. 1721Mass. House of Representatives Jrnl. (1922) III. 9 Acts have been Passed..for Striking Bills of Credit, and Issuing out the same, in order to discharge their Publick Debts. 1727in M. M. Verney Verney Lett. (1930) II. xxiv. 101 The main objection against him was his making up of the publick money in the South Sea. 1780Bentham Princ. Legisl. xviii. §9 These may be termed public offences or offences against the State. 1781in Eng. Rep. (1903) XXVIII. 1028 Treating it as a matter of public policy of the law, and similar to marriage brokage bonds, where, though the parties are private persons, the practice is publicly detrimental, [etc.]. 1785J. Wesley Let. 7 Apr. (1931) VII. 266, I beseech you..to have no respect of persons.., in disposing of the Yearly Contribution and the Preacher's Fund or any other public money. 1787M. Cutler Jrnl. 21 July in Life, Jrnls, & Corr. (1888) I. iv. 127 Congress would pay more than four millions of the public debt. 1794Public concern [see concern n. 6]. c1799Ess. on Political Society i. 59 To constitute the desiderated political system, is to constitute a permanent law for regulating the public administration. 1806in Documentary Hist. Amer. Industr. Society (1910) III. 67 The newspaper called the Aurora, has teemed with false representations..to poison the public mind. 1812Sir H. Davy Chem. Philos. 19 At this period there was no taste in the public mind to restrain vague imaginations. 1827J. Kent Commentaries on Amer. Law II. iv. 222 Public corporations, are such as exist for public political purposes only, such as counties, cities, towns and villages. They are founded by the government, for public purposes, and the whole interest in them belongs to the public. 1846Penny Cycl. Suppl. II. 457/2 It may be said that there are contracts which ought to be declared void for reasons of public policy, or, to use a more correct expression.., reasons of public utility. 1846Parl. Papers I. 257 (heading) A bill for providing cemeteries, and promoting public health, in towns and populous districts. 1853in Eng. Rep. (1901) X. 437 Public policy..is that principle of the law which holds that no subject can lawfully do that which has a tendency to be injurious to the public, or against the public good. 1868Trollope He Knew (1869) I. xxxviii. 300 The bias of the public mind. 1883Statutes at Large U.S.A. XXII. 214 Any convict, lunatic, idiot, or any person unable to take care of himself or herself without becoming a public charge. 1887Polit. Sci. Q. II. 212 Public administration is detailed and systematic execution of public law. 1889G. B. Shaw Fabian Ess. Socialism 194 The Manchester School will urge..the exemption of private enterprise from the competition of public enterprise. Ibid. 195 The superior prestige and permanence of public employment. 1894Public eye [mentioned s.v. eye n.1 8]. 1904Whitaker's Almanac 409/2 Public Record Office, Chancery Lane. Contains a collection of the National Records since 1100. a1909Mod. The event was celebrated by a public holiday. 1918Current Hist. Aug. 277/2 The public debt of the..United States..At Most Recent Date [in millions of dollars] $15,008. 1919A. M. Todd (title) Public ownership of railroads. 1928Britain's Industr. Future (Liberal Industr. Inquiry) 63 In a modern community many services must be run by a Public Concern—meaning by this a form of organisation which..is operated or regulated in the public interest. Ibid. 95 We propose..a special class of Company to be designated Public Corporations... The distinction..should depend..mainly on their preponderant position in their own industry or trade. Ibid. 243 We stand, not for public ownership, but for popular ownership. 1928J. Buchan Runagates Club x. 273 He had been returned to Parliament..but he wasn't much in the public eye. 1937Times 12 Jan. 13/6 Three years ago it was important to use public policy to increase investment. 1943J. B. Priestley Daylight on Saturday xxxi. 245 A passionate defender of private enterprise (which he was careful always to contrast with..‘State ownership’ and never with public enterprise). 1943W. H. Chase Sourdough Pot xix. 123 Some [gold miners] even became public charges with the passing of time. 1943J. S. Huxley TVA ix. 69 Much curiosity has been aroused in the public mind. 1955Bull. Atomic Sci. Apr. 112/3 Public employment does bring with it certain obligations beyond those required of citizens in private life. 1955Radio Times 22 Apr. 15/2 It was a gramophone recording that first brought her before the public eye. 1970E. Flores in I. L. Horowitz Masses in Lat. Amer. ix. 338 It is possible to substitute a cash deposit by Public Debt bonds. 1971‘D. Halliday’ Dolly & Doctor Bird i. 6 Public health is a doctor's concern. 1971S. A. de Smith Constitutional & Admin. Law xxiv. 512 Decisions in public administration can be classified in various ways. 1971P. Worsthorne Socialist Myth ix. 237 In a democracy..the expenditure of public money must be dependent on popular agreement. 1972Guardian 24 Mar. 14/2 Ministers must..keep open minds about public investment and public enterprise in the regions. 1973I. M. Sinclair Vienna Convention on Law of Treaties v. 110 The gradual establishment in common law jurisdictions of the principle that certain types of contract are, by their very nature, injurious to society and therefore contrary to public policy. 1973Listener 26 July 111/1 Mr Maudling said: ‘I don't think Michael Foot has the slightest idea what he intends to do in this field of so-called public ownership extension.’ 1975C. Stuart Reith Diaries 66 The management of public corporations..was his particular field.
2. Phrases from 1.
a. In various phrases (mostly obsolete) rendering or suggested by L. res publica, as † public state, † public thing (also † thing public), the commonwealth or state; public good, public weal (also † good public or weal public), public wealth, the common or national good or well-being; † the commonwealth or state; also † common public = common good. Cf. common a. 5 b.
1436Libel Eng. Policy xi. in Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 195 This was his laboure for the publique thinge. 1440in Wars Eng. in France (Rolls) II. 445 The gode publique of youre royaumes. 1447Rolls of Parlt. V. 137/1 Aynst alle vertue and ordre of welle puplike. 1470–85Malory Arthur v. i. 160 The Emperour Lucyus..Dictatour or procurour of the publyke wele of Rome. 1475Bk. Noblesse Title, The avauncyng and preferryng the comyn publique of the Royaumes of England and of Fraunce. 1483Grants Edw. V (Camden) p. xliii, The fyrst institucion of the thynge public there made by Romulus. 1490Caxton Eneydos vii. 33 He..that for his partyculer wele wyll leue y⊇ publike & comyn wele. 1538Bale Thre Lawes 170 A great occasyon of peace and publyque welth. a1628F. Grevil Inquis. Fame & Hon. viii. Poems (1633) ii. 54 It therefore much concernes each publike State To hoyse these costlesse sayles up to the Skye. 1632Sir T. Hawkins tr. Mathieu's Unhappy Prosperitie 180 The affaire..is of so great consequence, that..the weale-publike is either shaken, or confirmed. 1671Milton Samson 867 To the public good Private respects must yield. 1757Dyer Fleece ii. Poems (1761) 102 To the public weal Attentive none he [Jason] found.
b. public (formerly common) act, public bill, public statute: a parliamentary act or bill which affects the community at large; cf. private a. 7 b.
1678Publick Bills [see private a. 7 b]. 1765Blackstone Comm. I. Introd. iii. 85 Statutes are either general or special, public or private. A general or public act is an universal rule, that regards the whole community. 1863H. Cox Instit. i. iv. 19 Of modern Acts of Parliament, the principal division is into public and private.
c. public office: a building or set of buildings used for various departments of civic business, including the police office (q.v.), judicial, police, and coroner's courts, the meeting-place of the local authority, the departments of municipal officials, etc.
1792Act 32 Geo. III, c. 53 §3 A certain Publick Office within the Liberty of Westminster known by the Name of The Public Office in Bow Street. 1826Hone's Every-Day Bk. I. 768 On the 8th of June, 1825, a publican..was charged at the Public Office, Bow-street, by Mr. John Francis Panchaud, a foreigner. 1839[see police court]. 1885J. T. Bunce Hist. Corp. Birmingham II. 547 Formerly, and until the opening of the Council House, the Town Council met at the Public Office, and the Borough Surveyor's department was established there, as also were the offices for the police. 1891B'ham Daily Gaz. 2 Mar. 7/8 Birmingham Public Office. First Court.—Saturday.
d. († the) public opinion: the opinion of the mass of the community: see opinion n. 1 b.
e. public service: service to the community, esp. under the direction of the government or other official agency; consideration of the common good; with the spec. = Civil Service; also attrib.
1570–6Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1826) 7 So that they be well employed, both in the publique service, and in their own particular. 1645Rec. Colony & Plantation New Haven (1857) 168 The farmers that have butter and cheese were desired to keepe it in their hands, that in case the publicque service require it, they may be furnished. 1706House of Commons Jrnl. 11 Dec. (1742–62) XV. 211/1 Resolved, That this House will receive no Petitions for any Sum of Money, relating to publick Service, but what is recommended from the Crown. 1709[see service1 11]. 1818Ann. Reg. 1817: State Papers 309/2 They are..not prepared at present to suggest to the House any alteration in this mode of conducting this important department of the public service. 1857Dickens Dorrit II. xxviii. 557 It's like a limited game of cricket. A field of outsiders are always going in to bowl at the Public Service, and we block the balls. 1908I. N. Stevens Liberators 187 The public service corporation had dictated the nomination of the entire Republican State and legislative ticket. 1921Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 8 Apr. 2/3 John Mitchell, formerly of the public service, Ottawa, and now farming at Landsdowne, Ont., is mentioned as a likely Government candidate. 1921C. W. Terry Pract. Motor Body Building xxxviii. 254 (heading) Public service vehicles. 1926Daily Chron. 13 May 2/5 The Prince of Wales has been paying strictly private visits to public service depots in the London area. 1960Encounter Jan. 42/2 Those public-service advertisements which enjoin us to sneeze into a handkerchief. 1960Road Traffic Act 8 & 9 Eliz. II c. 16 §117 For the purposes of this Act a public service vehicle is a motor vehicle used for carrying passengers for hire or reward. 1972Guardian 21 Nov. 3/2 The Civil Service (‘Public Service’ is the standard term here [in Canberra]). a1974R. Crossman Diaries (1975) I. 486 The special late-night programmes on the election put on by both commercial and public-service television. 1977Times 2 Sept. 4/3 An independent Public Service Commission consisting of a Chairman and four other members. 1980Daily Tel. 29 Feb. 16 A much broader look ought to be taken at the whole question of public service broadcasting and the way it is financed.
f. public menace, public nuisance, etc.: anyone or anything obnoxious or annoying to the community. See also sense 9 a below.
1638Public nuisance [see nuisance 2 β]. 1877Trollope Amer. Senator I. xxvii. 288 ‘What a very queer bird he is.’ ‘He is a public nuisance,—and so is the old lady who brought him here.’ 1932Kipling Limits & Renewals 293 She [sc. a sow] broke out again and again, till the local body..indicted Mr. Gravell once more as proprietor of a public nuisance. 1952E. O'Neill Moon for Misbegotten iii. 149, I made such a public nuisance of myself that the conductor threatened if I didn't quit, he'd keep me locked in the drawing room. 1955Public menace [see cricket n.2 1 c]. 1965Listener 7 Oct. 549/2 Regarded now..as Public Pest No. 1 among vertebrates.., what hell the life of wood-pigeons seems to be. 1977Time 12 Dec. 41/1 Prosecutors saw Barnes as a public menace to put in prison.
g. public interest, the common well-being. Also attrib. Also, public welfare.
1678Butler Hudibras iii. ii. 102 Both Parties joyn'd to do their best, To Damn the Publick Interest. 1730Bolingbroke Craftsman (1731) VII. 22 No Man, who adheres to it, hath the least pretence left him to say that he pursues the publick Interest. 1858Disraeli in Hansard Commons 27 Apr. 1822 Not..one who proposes a course which will conduce to the advantage of the public interest. 1858M. Arnold Merope 119 Let us a union found..Bas'd on pure public welfare. 1901Edin. Rev. Apr. 378 The chief trustee of public welfare is, in this country, Parliament, and with Parliament rests the responsibility of seeing that the interests of the whole community are not subordinated to those of any portions of it. 1934G. B. Shaw Too True to be Good Pref. 15 They voluntarily lived holy lives and devoted themselves to the public welfare in obedience to the impulse of the Holy Ghost within them. 1955Meyerson & Banfield (title) Politics, planning and the public interest. 1971Wall St. Jrnl. 22 July w. 1/1 To work on coal miners' rights for a Washington public-interest law firm.
h. public law: that part of the law pertaining to the state and its relationship with the person subject to it; (see also sense 9 a).
1773J. Erskine Inst. Law Scotl. I. i. i. 9 The public law is that which hath more immediately in view the public weal, and the preservation and good order of society. 1923W. J. Byrne Dict. Eng. Law 519/2 Public law is that part of the law which deals with the State, either by itself or in its relations with individuals. 1973I. M. Sinclair Vienna Convention on Law of Treaties v. 110 The jus publicum was to be understood in a wide sense as embracing not only public law in the strict sense (that is to say, the law governing relations between individuals and the State) but also rules from which individuals were not permitted to depart by virtue of particular agreements. 1976J. M. Kelly Stud. Civil Judicature of Roman Republic iii. 78 A second class obviously due for exclusion is that which can be broadly labelled ‘public law’; legitimate subdivisions of this would be fiscal law, military law, and ‘local government’ or ‘police’ law.
i. public utility: a service or supply, such as electricity, water, or transport, considered necessary to the community, usu. controlled by a (nationalized or private) monopoly and subject to public regulation. Also (with hyphen) attrib.
1903R. T. Ely Stud. Evolution Industr. Society 225 The principal classes of these public utilities are water, light and transportation. 1915Political Q. May 106 Now coal mining is a ‘public-utility’ industry. 1928Daily Chron. 9 Aug. 7/2 Crops have been destroyed and communications and public utilities have been crippled. 1968P. A. S. Taylor Dict. Econ. Terms (ed. 4) 88 Public utility, an industry, such as gas, electricity, water and transport facilities, which requires heavy and highly specialised initial investment of capital, on which the return is slow. 1976H. Tracy Death in Reserve xvii. 129 Public utilities worked with the servicemen with an impressive coherence.
j. public sector: that part of an economy, industry, etc., which is controlled by the state at any level of government. Usu. with the.
1952[see private a. 7 j]. 1969M. Ash Who are Progressives Now? i. v. 122 What we in the public sector miss above all is the sense of involvement of people with progressive ideas with the State system. 1972Guardian 31 Jan. 13/5 Other public sector groups. 1976F. Zweig New Acquisitive Society i. ii. 28 The public sector seems to be the most suitable object for pressure groups' claims. 1980Jrnl. R. Soc. Arts Mar. 205/1 The public sector borrowing requirement would be reduced.
3. a. Done or made by or on behalf of the community as a whole; authorized by, acting for, or representing, the community. public defender (U.S.), a lawyer employed by the state who represents a defendant who is unable to pay for legal assistance, in criminal cases.
1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 61 He should be constrained to stand to the publique judgement appointed by you. 1621Bp. R. Montagu Diatribæ 248 Those grand duties, and publique performances of Polity, or of Pietie. 1637Scotch Prayer Bk., Communion Rubric, For the decent furnishing of that Church, or the publike relief of their poore. 1676in E. D. Neill Virginia Carolorum (1886) 361 For haveing upon specious preferences of publique works raised great unjust taxes [etc.]. 1676Public servant [see servant n. 2 e]. 1741Richardson Pamela IV. xiii. 75 Poor Housekeepers, who..are asham'd to apply for publick Relief. 1796H. Hunter tr. St.-Pierre's Stud. Nat. (1799) III. 515 To return to our public Assemblies... Nothing can be more inconsistent with the gravity and wisdom of a deliberative Assembly than acclamation. c1810W. Hickey Mem. (1918) II. xi. 146 The parties complaining were so unreasonable as to refuse any terms, whereby the progress of the public works was impeded. 1839–77Public prosecutor [see prosecutor 3]. 1845Public servant [see servant n. 2 e]. 1869Bradshaw's Railway Manual XXI. 95 Public Works Loan Commissioners. 1879–1902 Public prosecution [see prosecution 5 d]. 1884B. Jerrold At Home in Paris II. xii. 185 That ready kindness of heart and chivalry towards the weak which pervade the ‘Public Assistance’ of the country. 1890Ld. Esher in Law Times Rep. LXIII. 734/1 A public prosecution, ordered by an official of the Crown, for what was considered to be a public object. 1891R. Wallace Rural Econ. Austral. & N.Z. xxxviii. 488 No public-works undertaking can be made economically to suit any purpose whatever when that purpose has only been named without being formulated or its details settled. 1918Policeman's Monthly Oct. 9/2 (caption) A public defender needed. 1930Economist 5 Apr. 767/1 The Public Assistance Committees through which the county councils and the town councils of county boroughs are henceforward to administer what will in future be called ‘public assistance’. 1931J. S. Huxley What dare I Think? iii. 87 A..method for exerting some control over population-growth would be to link it on to public relief. 1932N.Y. Times 23 Mar. 15/1 The steps advocated [at the 1st Public Housing Conference] were..the presenting of questionnaires to candidates for the Legislature seeking to commit them on the question of public housing. 1937Statutes at Large U.S.A. L. i. 887 The term ‘public housing authority’ means any..public body..authorized to engage in the development or administration of low-rent housing or slum clearance. 1942E. Paul Narrow St. xxii. 189 She is an ideal public servant, having all the minor ailments possible, a fiendish disposition, short stature and a healthy dislike for mankind. 1961Webster s.v. Public adj. 1 c, Public expenditures. 1961B. Crump Hang on a Minute 65 He was working in a Public Works road gang, clearing slips off roads and digging drains and things. 1964Mrs. L. B. Johnson White House Diary 1 Aug. (1970) 187 He spoke, disheartened, of the enormous quantity of public housing in New York City. 1965Seldon & Pennance Everyman's Dict. Econ. 45 One central fund from which all regular public expenditures should be paid. 1965A. J. P. Taylor Eng. Hist. 1914– 1945 vi. 212 Far from welcoming any increase in public spending, let alone advocating it, Labour had inherited the radical view that money spent by the state was likely to be money spent incompetently and corruptly. 1971Archivum Linguisticum II. 50 A working man..on public assistance. 1974State (Columbia, S. Carolina) 15 Feb. 1–b/3 Pickens County Public Defender Joseph Board represented him while Thomas M. Greene..represented the state. 1976Times 21 May 1/5 The combined effects of the Government's public expenditure restraint and pay policies. 1976Birmingham Post 16 Dec. 7/9 Two major hospital schemes in Dudley and Stafford, costing more than {pstlg}20 million, may be delayed because of the public spending cuts. 1977N.Z. Herald 8 Jan. 2–4/6 Until she breaks the seal and reads what was written in public servant scrawl 24 years ago, she cannot continue her search. 1977New Yorker 27 June 85/3 Queens..has..only eighteen of the city's two hundred and forty-six public-housing projects. 1977P. Johnson Enemies of Society v. 71 The new government public-relief system aggravated the evils it was designed to cure. 1977G. Clark World Prehist. (ed. 3) ii. 75 Given the possibility of public works on an adequate scale, it was capable of producing food enough to support society at increasing levels of complexity.
b. In the ancient universities: Belonging to, made or authorized by, acting for or on behalf of, the whole university (as distinguished from the colleges or other constituents): as public disputation, public examination, public lecture, public schools, public hall, public theatre, public library; public orator, public lecturer, public professor, public reader, etc.
In some of these connexions, ‘public’ has given way to ‘University’, as University Library, lecturer, professor, reader, or to special designations as ‘examination-schools’, Bodleian Library, Sheldonian Theatre, etc. In others the adj. is now often taken to mean ‘open to all members of the university’ or even ‘open to the public generally’, as in 4, or ‘performed publicly’ as in 5.
[1522Camb. Univ. Stat. (Docmts. of Commission, 1852, I. 431), Statuimus ordinamus et volumus ut unus aliquis orator publicus eligatur.] 1550Udall tr. P. Martyr (title), A discourse or traictise of Petur Martyr..the publyque reader of diuinitee in the Uniuersitee of Oxford. 1614in Willis & Clark Cambridge III. 35 There is an intention of erecting a new publique library in Cambridge in imitation of that of Oxford. [1636Corpus Statut. Univers. Oxon., Tit. iii. §1 (1888) Cum..conducat ut Scholares non solum sub publico sed etiam sub privato regimine contineantur; Statutum est quod omnes Scholares..in aliquod Collegium vel Aulam admittantur. Ibid. Tit. iv, De Lectoribus Publicis. Ibid. Tit. vi. i. §3 In Scholis Artium publicis Disputationes..habeantur. Ibid. Tit. xvii. vii, De Publico Universitatis Oratore.] 1645Public orator of the University [see orator 5]. 1656Wood Life (O.H.S.) I. 205 Dr John Wilson, the public professor [of Music], the best at the lute in all England. 1731Ordinationes in Laudian Code (1888) Appx. 320 The Public Librarian. Ibid., The University Orator..to make a Speech in Commemoration of the Benefactors to the University in the Public Theatre once in the year. 1773[J. Napleton] (title) Considerations on the public exercises for First and Second Degrees in the University of Oxford. 1810Oxf. Univ. Cal. 56 The Public Examinations are held twice a year. Ibid., A testimonial will be given him by one of the Public Examiners. 1814Dyer Hist. Univ. Camb. I. 247 You enter the quadrangle that forms the public schools through the portico of the public library. 1862Oxf. Univ. Cal. 134 The First Public Examination before the Moderators,..the Second Public Examination before the Public Examiners. [So 1909.] 1900Cambr. Univ. Cal. 683 Unless the Fellow hold the office of Professor, Public Orator, Registrary, or Librarian in the University.
4. a. That is open to, may be used by, or may or must be shared by, all members of the community; not restricted to the private use of any person or persons; generally accessible or available; generally levied (as a rate or tax). Also (in narrower sense), that may be used, enjoyed, shared, or competed for, by all persons legally or properly qualified.
Sometimes involving the sense, provided or supported at the public expense, and under public control: as in public elementary school, and often in public baths, public library, public park, and the like; public convenience: see convenience n. 7 d. A thing may also be ‘public’ at once in senses 4 and 5, as public worship, or in 1, 3, 4 and 5, as public meeting. See also public school, in various senses.
1542Udall in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 6 Xenocrates..readynge a publique lecture in philosophie. 1561T. Hoby tr. Castiglione's Courtyer ii. (1577) K iv b, To make great Theatres, and other publique buildings. 1606Shakes. Ant. & Cl. ii. ii. 234, I saw her once Hop forty Paces through the publicke streete. 1611Coryat Crudities 290 There are reported to be in Venice..twentie seven publique clocks. Ibid. 403 In an open court sub dio two publike bathes. 1613Purchas Pilgrimage i. v. xvi. 453 They have their publike Meetings and Bankets in their Temples very often. 1617Moryson Itin. i. 77 Each Church hath a little market place..and a publike Well. 1644Direct. Publ. Worship Title-p., The Publique Worship of God. 1655Fuller Ch. Hist. iv. i. §11 In publique assemblies, if the weaker party can so subsist as not to be conquered, it conquers in reputation. 1699M. Lister Journey to Paris 150, I never saw in all the Markets once Sprouts..nor in their publick Gardens any Reserves of old Stalks. 1705Boston News-Let. 24 Sept. 2/1 We know not the certainty of any others besides those mentioned in the Publick Print. 1707Chamberlayne Pres. St. Eng. iii. xi. 386 A fair publick Library free for all Strangers in Term-time. 1718in Rep. Rec. Commissioners Boston (1883) VIII. 129 The Projection of an Act for a Publick Market in Boston..Voted disallowed. 1738W. Stephens Jrnl. 11 Feb. in Colonial Rec. Georgia (1906) IV. 80 Bailiff Parker and Mr. Hugh Anderson..took a Walk first to the publick Garden. 1762in A. Earle Customs & Fashions in Old New England (1893) 247 At the Public Room of the above Inn will be delivered a series of Moral Dialogues. 1763J. Bell Trav. from St. Petersburg II. 54, I was present at the representation of a kind of farce in the publick street. 1777Public print [see print n. 11]. 1781Public street [see nuisance 2 c]. 1785Cowper Tirocinium in Poems II. 334 And while on public nurs'ries they rely. 1793Smeaton Edystone L. §59 His property was sold at public biddings. 1802C. Wilmot Let. 16 May in Irish Peer (1920) 69 The most entertaining and pleasant day possible, at ‘Bagatelle’... As it is a Publick garden, multitudes of people were parading about. 1804R. Sutcliff Jrnl. 31 July in Trav. N. Amer. (1811) 42 This morning I was conducted..to one of the Public Baths [in New York City]. 1819Sporting Mag. IV. 211 There was a public road, right from our place to that of our ‘salesman’. 1821–30Ld. Cockburn Mem. vi. (1856) 346 We were..very angry, and had recourse to one of these new things called public meetings... It was held on the 2d of December 1817. 1822J. C. Loudon Encycl. Gardening 1186 Public Parks, or Equestrian Promenades, are valuable appendages to large cities. 1825H. Wilson Mem. III. 38 We wanted to go to the play..but we had..no private box. I have never in my life, frequented the public boxes. 1832in Whig Almanac 1844 38/1 Within a few years..restless men have thrown before the public their visionary plans for squandering the public domain. 1848Mrs. Gaskell Mary Barton I. i. 1 There are some fields near Manchester..through which runs a public footpath to a little village about two miles distant. 1850Eng. Jrnl. Educ. IV. 434/2 A Public Nursery has recently been established in Nassau Street, Mary-le-Bone, for the purpose of receiving the children of the married industrious poor during the working-hours of the day. 1855Act 18 & 19 Vict. c. 122 §3 In the construction of this Act..the following terms shall have the respective meanings herein-after assigned to them... ‘Public building’ shall mean every building used as a church, chapel, or other place of public worship; also every building used for purposes of public instruction; also every building used as a college, public hall, hospital, theatre, public concert room, public ball room, public lecture room, public exhibition room, or for any other public purposes. 1880Geo. Eliot Let. 6 June (1956) VII. 292 Your having learned the news of our marriage by the cable and public prints has always been a vexation to us. 1893McClure's Mag. I. 394/2 There were even days when the Joneses questioned whether they were not running a public telephone, so often did the bell ring. 1898E. Howard Tomorrow vii. 73 Their so-called ‘public markets’..are by no means public in the same full sense as are our public parks, libraries, water undertakings..which are carried on upon public property, by public officials, at the public expense, and solely with a view to the public advantage. 1903Public park [see park n. 2 b]. 1904Daily Chron. 23 Jan. 5/2 On January 23, 1849, the first public baths in London, those at St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, were opened. 1908Dec. 21 Act 8 Edw. VII, c. 66 §1 An act to prevent disturbance of Public Meetings{ddd}§2 This Act may be cited as the Public Meeting Act, 1908. 1910Bradshaw's Railway Guide Apr. 1059/2 Private Hotel... Fine public rooms. 1910W. J. Locke Simon the Jester xxii. 291, I..went in search of the nearest public telephone office. 1924J. Buchan Three Hostages vi. 85, I went into a public telephone-booth. 1926Gloss. Terms Electr. Engin. (Brit. Engin. Stand. Assoc.) 162 Public call office (Pay station, U.S.A.), a subscriber's station available for the use of the public on payment of a fee, which may be deposited in a coin box or paid to an attendant. 1927W. B. Yeats October Blast 21 They hold their public meetings where Our most renownèd patriots stand. 1927Observer 16 Oct. 11/4 Auto-electric advertising machines are about to be placed in 2,500 public telephone call boxes in London. 1928D. L. Sayers Unpleasantness at Bellona Club viii. 88 That phone-call..was put through..from a public call-box. Ibid. 90 His call came from a public box. 1930W. S. Maugham Cakes & Ale xi. 136 He was rather fond of going down to the Bear and Key..and having a few beers in the public bar. 1932Kipling Limits & Renewals 386 Improved sanitary appliances and gratuitous public transport. 1933Radio Times 14 Apr. 75/1 The war was newly over..and public clocks had resumed their forgotten chiming. 1933E. Waugh Scoop i. iii. 50 There was a dense crowd round the public lavatory. 1933A. G. Macdonell England, their England vii. 100 He covered the twenty yards to the public telephone box. 1943J. S. Huxley TVA vii. 50 Over a quarter of the 40,000 square miles of the Southern Highlands is or will shortly be public domain, under either Federal or State ownership. 1952M. Laski Village xiii. 181 In these public streets, love was easiest spoken of when they talked of the children. 1961E. Waugh Unconditional Surrender i. i. 23 I'll drop you back at your office. Can't have you using public transport on your birthday. Ibid. iii. ii. 230 Guy took to walking every afternoon in the public gardens... There were winding paths, specimen trees, statuary, a bandstand. 1962J. Braine Life at Top x. 136 The Warley Council's plan for a new public baths. 1965Scotsman 14 June 8 House contains 2 public rooms, 2 bedrooms, boxroom, scullery and bathroom. 1969A. Cornelisen Torregreca iv. 139 Our meeting is not entirely private... Our mutual understanding must become public property. 1971H. Calvin Poison Chasers vii. 83 Two of the security men..came into the public bar, and the rest of the customers..went into the lounge bar. 1971D. Lees Rainbow Conspiracy ix. 134 All I had to look for was a broken stile with a Public Footpath sign. 1971R. Busby Deadlock v. 74 A public telephone stood in one corner of the discreetly lit foyer. 1972P. Cleife Slick & Dead i. iv. 37 The job of public lavatory attendant. 1973A. Mann Tiara ix. 80 Available on the terrace was a row of public toilets. 1974M. Birmingham You can help Me iii. 47 There was one caller from a public call-box..and another—not from a public box. 1974R. C. Dennis Conversations with Corpse xiii. 132 Nothing appeared in the public prints about the missing money. 1975Country Life 2 Jan. 38/3 In 1963 Cypress was given to the City of Charleston as a public park. 1976P. R. White Planning for Public Transport ii. 31 We are concerned with public transport (which is taken to mean modes available for public use rather than any distinction based on ownership). 1977Listener 30 June 861/3 After years of legal wrangles and bankruptcy, Jacques Tati has managed to get his films back into the public domain. 1977W. McIlvanney Laidlaw xxii. 94 A pub which from the outside looked as inviting as a public toilet. 1978‘D. Rutherford’ Collision Course 121 They paid admission to the Casino and..strolled through the public rooms.
b. public education, education at school, as opposed to being ‘privately educated’; also education at a public school as distinguished from a private school.
1581Mulcaster Positions xxxix. (1887) 183 Of priuate and publike education, with their generall goods and illes. 1797Godwin Enquirer i. vii. 59 Public education is best for..a..healthful mind. 1835Arnold Let. 15 Apr. in Stanley Life (1845) I. 421 Public education is the best where it answers... I should certainly advise anything rather than a private school of above thirty boys.
c. Professionally at the service of the public: as a tradesman, dealer, etc.
1825Greenhouse Comp. I. 244 A public dealer can always afford to keep up a finer display of plants..than any private gentleman whatever. 1869L. M. Alcott Little Women ii. xi. 162 She excited the suspicions of public librarians by asking for works on prisons. 1972C. Drummond Death at Bar ii. 44 Dubious books submitted to their Members of Parliament by Watch Committees, Purity Leagues and Aldermen who had power over public librarians.
d. public woman, † public commoner: a prostitute; = common woman (common a. 6 b).
1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. ii. xix. 56 b, [He] caused to be clothed two publique Turkish women, with very rich apparrell. 1604Shakes. Oth. iv. ii. 73 Oh, thou publicke Commoner. 1662J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Ambass. 287 To banish thence all the publick Women. 1892E. Reeves Homeward Bound 194 The houses of the ‘public women’ (as they are still styled in modern places).
†e. public table = table d'hôte. Obs.
1742M. W. Montagu Let. 23 May (1966) II. 281 Nothing is cheaper than living in an Inn in a Country Town in France..25 sous for dinner and 30 for supper and lodging of those that eat at the public table. 1842Dickens Let. 4 Apr. (1974) III. 182 The public table, at this hotel and at the hotel opposite, has just now finished dinner. 1865Trollope Can you forgive Her? II. xxx. 234 At Lucerne they made no acquaintances... They did not even dine at the public table.
f. to go public: of a privately-owned company, to seek a quotation on the stock exchange; also in trivial use (passing into sense 5) to reveal oneself, to come out into the open.
1965H. I. Ansoff Corporate Strategy (1968) iv. 62 Two major alternatives to this end [sc. of enhancing the liquidity of the firm's equity] are to ‘go public’, or to merge the firm with another large one. 1972Accountant 5 Oct. 417/1 It..disregarded the probability that the company would in the near future ‘go public’. 1976‘A. Hall’ Kobra Manifesto xv. 211 The girl's fever..had either driven or panicked Kobra into the open and in seizing the Boeing they'd gone public. 1977Lebende Sprachen XII. 158/2 This will see the Arabs go public with the new second stage of their economic strategy.
5. a. Open to general observation, sight, or cognizance; existing, done, or made in public; manifest; not concealed. Also of an agent: Acting in public.
a1548Hall Chron., Rich. III 28 b, Ther inwarde grudge could not refrayne but crye out in places publike, and also priuate. 1557N. T. (Genev.) Matt. i. 19 A publike exemple of infamie. 1597Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. xix. §2 The Church, by her publike reading of the Booke of God, preacheth onely as a witnesse. 1641Brome Jov. Crew ii. i, Will you up to the hill-top of sports..? No, that will be too publique for our Recreation. 1709Steele Tatler No. 10 ⁋7 The Count de Mellos..had made his Publick Entry into that City with much State. 1762W. Smith Discourses Publ. Occasions (ed. 2) App. 113 This attention to public speaking, which is begun here [in the College of Philadelphia] with the very rudiments of the mother-tongue, is continued down to the end. 1780Public speaker [see speaker 1 b]. 1825T. Moore Mem. Life R. B. Sheridan x. 322 And, in this great essential of public speaking, must be considered inferior to [etc.]. 1874Blackie Self-Cult. 23 A certain awkwardness and difficulty in the public utterance of thought. 1905G. B. Shaw Let. 27 Nov. (1972) 583, I do not know yet exactly how you get your effects, except that it is not in my rather rhetorical, public⁓speaker kind of way. 1931Economist 28 Mar. 665/2 Mr. Morrison's final conclusion that the proper authority to be set up is a ‘business Board’ of five members, incorporating what he defined as ‘an element of public accountability’. 1940C. Milburn Diary 25 Dec. (1979) 76 We..listened to our beloved King's speech... How bravely he overcomes the difficulties of public speaking. 1950B. Pym Some Tame Gazelle xxi. 232 She was a confident public speaker and this afternoon's audience of parish women..held no terrors for her. 1959Observer 18 Oct. 24/7, I am sure she disapproved of the new euphemism: public accountability. 1965Mod. Law Rev. XXVIII. v. 520 Judges..had a near monopoly of the Chairmanships of Royal Commissions, indeed of public inquiries of every sort. 1965Times Lit. Suppl. 25 Nov. 1059/1 The public⁓speaking Dr. Rosten points a neat moral. 1971Wraith & Lamb Public Inquiries i. 13 Public inquiries are constituted ad hoc to inquire into particular matters, and are for the most part concerned only to establish facts and to make recommendations. 1974Times 17 Nov. 14/2 The important issue is that of public accountability. A body [sc. the BBC] which gets all its funds from the public ought to be obliged to answer any question from anyone about how the money is spent. 1975Oxf. Compan. Sports & Games 1112/2 A wrestler at fault is given a warning and if he offends again he is given a public caution. Ibid. 1113/1 Should the same wrestler offend again he is given a second public warning. 1976Abingdon Herald 9 Dec., With, it seemed, two men in the ring against him and only the whole crowd for him, Marino gave vent to justifiable retaliation and received the first public warning of the evening. 1979Jrnl. R. Soc. Arts July 511/1 Mr. McWilliam knows all too well that digs at buildings in volumes so important can have a devastating effect at Public Inquiries, and can cause interesting buildings to fall victim to the destroyers.
†b. Easily seen, conspicuous, prominent. Obs.
1597A. M. tr. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg. 29 b/2 The ninth [vein] is very publique, lyinge in the necke, and is called the Iugularis vayne.
†c. Of a person: That is before the public. Obs.
1650T. Hubbert Pill Formality 19 He is not so openly manifested to be wicked as the publike profane person. 1722De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 287, I was not so public here as to be very well known. 1727P. Walker Life Cameron in Biog. Presb. (1827) 294 Mr. George Barclay..was very publick at that Time, and had his Hand at many a good Turn.
d. Of a book, writing, etc.: (chiefly in phr. made public) Made accessible to all; published; in print. ? Obs., or merged in 5.
a1641Bp. R. Montagu Acts & Mon. iii. (1642) 159 The Prophets, whose writings were publique, and extant amongst the Jews. 1657Austen Fruit Trees Ep. Ded., Your Legacy of Husbandry (and other pieces made publique by your means). 1716Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) V. 264 Dr. South..hath many publick Works extant. 1777Robertson Hist. Amer. (1783) II. 451 The first of his dispatches has never been made public.
e. public address system: a system comprising microphone, amplifier, and loudspeaker which enables speech or music to be projected to an assembly of people; so public-address equipment.
1923Electrical Communication I. iv. 46 Public address systems..developed for the purpose of extending the range of the voice of a speaker addressing an audience. 1950Engineering 24 Nov. 392/2 Public-address equipment using magnetic tapes for announcing and recording..has been installed. 1972Police Rev. 8 Dec. 1597/3 A public address system fitted to each vehicle. 1978R. V. Jones Most Secret War xxi. 176 The effect would be rather like that which occurs in public address systems where the noise from the loudspeakers impinges on the original microphone, and is therefore picked up and relayed back to the loudspeakers again.
f. Public Lending Right: the name given to authors' (and publishers') entitlement to a fee for books borrowed from public libraries.
1961Ann. Reg. 1960 458 Sir Alan Herbert..celebrated his seventieth birthday by opening a campaign for what came to be known as the Public Lending Right. 1970Guardian 6 Apr. 8/1 His..description on the ballot paper could well be..Ardent Advocate of Public Lending Right... Of the dust-gathering plan to give authors and publishers a bit of the royalty for the books we borrow from the public libraries. 1977Time Out 17–23 June 14/1 Combined with the Public Lending Right, the author would be helped twice over, more sales and more loans.
g. public-access: used attrib. to designate a form of television in which the general public can produce or contribute to programmes. U.S.
1972Listener 6 July 1 Public-Access Television. 1976National Observer (U.S.) 18 Dec. 1/1 All this appeared in recent weeks on a New York City ‘public access’ cable-TV channel that serves 85,000 families in Manhattan.
6. a. Of, pertaining to, or engaged in the affairs or service of the community; esp. of a person: occupying an official or professional position; also, holding a position of general influence or authority.
1571Chillester tr. Chelidonius' Instit. Chr. Princes Title-p., A Hystorie..very necessarie to be red not only of all Nobilitie and Gentlemen, but also of euerie publike person. 1611Coryat Crudities 205 The Duke sat about the publicke affaires with the other Senators. 1654Trapp Comm. Ezra i. 5 Men of publike places. 1673J. Ray Observations Journey Low-Countries 170 Those who assist the Commonwealth..have liberty granted to them to be present in this Council, and to understand the management of public affairs. 1783Johnson in Boswell (1887) IV. 178 With how little real superiority of mind men can make an eminent figure in publick life. 1817Parl. Deb. 10 July, The community at large, who knew Mr. Ponsonby only as a public man. 1822Sunday Times 20 Oct. 1/3 (heading) Aspect of public affairs. 1861Earl Russell in Times 16 Oct., When I embarked in public life. 1901Westm. Gaz. 11 Dec. 1/3 Public men are made for public affairs, not public affairs for public men. 1937Burlington Mag. Feb. 94/2 The management of public affairs.
b. public notary, notary public: see notary n.
7. Of or pertaining to a person in the capacity in which he comes in contact with the community, as opposed to his private capacity; official. Also transf.
1538Starkey England i. ii. 61 Both in the pryuate and publyke state of euery man. 1676Hobbes Iliad i. 307 Two publick servants of the king were there. 1709Steele Tatler No. 10 ⁋1 Effects..upon the publick and private Actions of Men. 1725Butler Serm. v. 80 Every man is to be considered in two capacities, the private and publick. 1864[see private a. 6]. 1932H. Nicolson (title) Public faces. 1961Public image [see image n. 5 b]. 1962Listener 1 Mar. 366/2 Finally, there is the question of Egypt's public face, the face which she presents to the world. 1967M. Argyle Psychol. Interpersonal Behaviour ix. 154 There may be secondary aims [in an assessment interview], such as giving C [sc. the candidate] information about the job, or improving the public image of the employing organization. 1976P. Ferris Detective iii. 46 I'm not really on the board... I was only there today to report on our public image. 1977C. Storr Tales Psychiatrist's Couch 8 Although she was still a difficult woman in her private relationships, she acquired a much easier public face.
8. Devoted or directed to the promotion of the general welfare; public-spirited, patriotic. Now chiefly in
b. public spirit.
1607Norden Surv. Dial. v. 200 Some will be peruerse, and wilful, and hinder the best publike action that is. 1652Howell Giraffi's Rev. Naples ii. 78 Known to be a good Patriot, and of a publike soul. 1665Dryden & Howard Indian Queen iv. i, Would it not breed Grief in your public heart to see her bleed? 1847Emerson Repr. Men, Napoleon Wks. (Bohn) I. 370 Napoleon had been the first man of the world, if his ends had been purely public.
b.1654Whitlock Zootomia 382 Private Persons with publike Spirits, are of a goodnesse Angelicall. 1691T. H[ale] Acc. New Invent. p. xix, Men of publick Spirits. 1712Steele Spect. No. 294 ⁋1 The greatest Instances of publick Spirit the Age has produced. 1803Censor Sept. 107, I am not influenced by motives of private revenge, but by a public spirit. 1836Sir H. Taylor Statesman xxiii. 167 Discretion, knowledge of mankind, public spirit, a spirit of justice.
II.
9. With extended, international, or universal reference. a. Of or pertaining to the nations generally, or to the European, Christian, or civilized nations, regarded as a single community; general; international; esp. in public law (see also sense 2 h) Also freq. as public enemy; now esp. (passing into sense 2 f above) in public enemy number one (orig. U.S.), the first named on a list of wanted criminals; the greatest threat to a community; also transf. and in extended use in similar phrases.
1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 304 A publique war was attempted against the Barbarians. 1581Hamilton Cath. Traictise in Cath. Tractates (S.T.S.) 103 Quhat vther nor the Romane kirk..be publict concilis hes condemnit all heretikes. 1665Boyle Occas. Refl. iv. xvii. (1848) 274 For almost all the publique Quarrels in Christendome. 1756G. Whitefield Short Address 9 We may as lawfully draw our swords, in order to defend ourselves against our common and public Enemy. 1792Burke Pres. St. Affairs Wks. 1826 VII. 99 In contradiction to the whole tenour of the publick law of Europe. 1842Alison Hist. Europe (1850) XIII. xcii. §68. 552 A declaration was..signed by all the powers..which..proscribed Napoleon as a public enemy, with whom neither peace nor truce could be concluded. 1845Public enemy [see enemy n. 1]. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. i. I. 9 Races separated from each other by seas and mountains acknowledged..a common code of public law. 1931S. F. Call (Mag.) 18 June 8 There are two people alive, at least, who love Al Capone—his wife and his kid. Public Enemy No. 1 is to them an idol. 1935Daily Mail 23 Oct. 18/1 (Advt.), We all know who is Public Enemy No. 1 when it's time to get up! The ‘Droops’. 1939Ld. Camrose in M. Gilbert Winston S. Churchill (1976) V. lii. 1081 Well, Winston was Public Enemy No 1 in Berlin, and Eden was the same in Italy. 1940‘N. Blake’ Malice in Wonderland ii. ix. 123 The presence of a public enemy in our midst. 1958Listener 17 July 75/1 Iraq..has been Public Enemy No. 1 to Egypt's propagandists. 1967M. Murray Ballad of Bonnie & Clyde (song), 3 Bonnie and Clyde got to be public enemy number one—Running and hiding from ev'ry American lawman's gun. 1978Jrnl. R. Soc. Arts CXXVI. 422/2 In some cities, the car has almost come to qualify for the title of public enemy number one. 1980Guardian 19 Dec. 22/1 The fugitive Irishman..was ‘a prominent member of the IRA and a public enemy’.
b. Of, pertaining, or common to the whole human race; = common a. 1 b. rare.
1653H. Whistler Upshot Inf. Baptisme 3 Whereby the guiltinesse of Adams sinne (as the publique Trustee for Man-kind) originally tainteth Children. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 630 The Sun..In Iron Clouds conceal'd the Publick Light. 1858Hawthorne Fr. & It. Note-bks. (1872) I. 44 Enjoying the public sunshine as if it were their own household fire.
III. 10. Comb., as (from 8) public-hearted, public-minded (Webster 1828), adjs.; hence public-heartedness, public-mindedness; public-voiced adj. Also public-spirited.
1647Clarendon Hist. Reb. vi. §246 Their publick-heartedness, and joynt concernment in the good Cause. 1692South Serm. (1697) I. 412 By the publick-mindedness of particular Persons. a1706Evelyn Diary an. 1691 (1955) V. 61 This church.., being beged by Dr. Tenison Rector of St. Martines, was set up by that publique minded, charitable & pious Doctor neere my sons dwelling Dover-streete. 1757Dyer Fleece ii. Poems (1761) 105 Public-hearted Roe, Faithful, sagacious, active, patient, brave. 1976West Lancs. Even. Gaz. 13 Dec. 6/5 A North Shore woman was particularly public-minded after buying some wrapping paper from a Cleveleys shop recently. She thought the paper might have been a fire hazard and took it round to Blackpool fire station for them to test it.
B. n. (the adj. used absolutely or elliptically).
1.
†a. The community or people as an organized body; the nation, the state; the commonwealth; the interest or well-being of the community; = L. rēs pūblica. Usually construed as singular. Obs.
1611Bible Transl. Pref. 2 Whosoeuer attempteth any thing for the publike. 1611B. Jonson Catiline v. vi, Hee's scarce a friend vnto the publike. 1640–1Kirkcudbr. War-Comm. Min. Bk. (1855) 92 For the better furtherance of the service of the publict. 1673Ray Journ. Low C., Venice 154 Though the public be not so rich as it hath been, yet will it soon recover itself. 1699Shaftesbury Charac. (1711) II. i. iii. iii. 63 In a civil State or Publick, we see that a virtuous Administration..is of the highest service. 1764Burn Poor Laws 209 Sustained, not at the expence of such parish or place, nor of the county,..but of the publick, to be paid out of some such rate as the land tax. 1769Blackstone Comm. IV. xi. 151 If both these points are against the defendant, the offence against the public is complete.
b. The community as an aggregate, but not in its organized capacity; hence, the members of the community.
In the latter sense now usually const. as plural.
1665Boyle Occas. Refl. Pref. (1848) 9 The favourable Reception that the public has hitherto vouchsafed to what has been presented it. 1711Steele Spect. No. 258 ⁋2 Another Project which..will give the Publick an Equivalent to their full Content. 1781Cowper Let. to J. Newton 5 Mar., One would wish, at first setting out, to catch the public by the ear, and hold them by it as fast as possible. 1796Burke Regic. Peace ii. Wks. VIII. 257 The publick is the theatre for mountebanks and impostors. 1808Times 6 Feb., The Nobility, Gentry, and the Public, are respectfully informed, that [etc.]. 1821–30Ld. Cockburn Mem. vi. (1856) 371 There was a feeble murmur against the ejection of what the few murmurers termed ‘The Public’. 18..E. Jesse Notice at Hampton Court in Pall Mall G. 9 Nov. (1891) 3/1 ‘The public is expected to protect what is intended for the public enjoyment.’ 1883Law Times 20 Oct. 408/1 The public and the Profession were alike urgent in calling for sweeping reforms.
†c. The world at large, mankind. Cf. the adj. 9 b. Obs. rare.
1699Shaftesbury Charac. (1711) II. i. ii. iii. 30 The Mind..readily discerns the Good and Ill towards the Species or Publick.
2. a. With a and pl. A particular section, group, or portion of a community, or of mankind.
1709Shaftesbury Charac. (1711) I. ii. iii. ii. 111 They..enjoy the common Good and Interest of a more contracted Publick. 1794Paley Evid. i. i. (1817) 29 That general disbelief..which..prevailed amongst the intelligent part of the heathen public. 1815W. H. Ireland Scribbleomania 30 note, They would make no impression on a public accustomed to quartos of original poetry by the month. 1817Coleridge Biogr. Lit. I. iii. 49 A shelf or two of Beauties, elegant Extracts and Anas, form nine-tenths of the reading of the reading public. 1843Ruskin Arrows of Chace (1880) I. 21 There is a separate public for every picture, and for every book. 1868M. Pattison Academ. Org. 3 The British public will not long ask this question without helping itself to the answer. 1884Manch. Exam. 14 May 4/5 The outside public appear disposed to take Mr. C― at his own valuation. 1894M. G. Tarde in Pop. Sci. Monthly XLV. 458 While it is the most capricious of publics it is also the most sheeplike.
b. With preceding possessive. The particular section of society which is sympathetic to the person or thing indicated.
1921H. Crane Let. 19 Sept. (1965) 64, I am ‘sold out’ and will have to rush rhymes and rhythms together to supply my enthusiastic ‘public’ as fast as I can. 1952Granville Dict. Theatrical Terms 145 My public will hate me in this part.
c. Sociol. A collective group regarded as sharing some cultural, social, or political interest but who as individuals do not necessarily have any contact with one another.
1927J. Dewey Public & its Problems ii. 39 There are associations which are too narrow and restricted in scope to give rise to a public, just as there are associations too isolated from one another to fall within the same public. 1933F. H. Allport Institutional Behav. v. 87 Since the public is no specific group of individuals, but is defined wholly by the range of the common interest in a particular transaction, there may be a separate public for every issue raised. We are compelled, therefore, to think of various publics. 1954G. A. Lundberg et al. Sociol. xiii. 491 A great source of difficulty has been the varied and confused image of the term ‘public’. Clearly one may belong to as many publics as one has interests. 1954Gerth & Mills Character & Social Structure xv. 435 Publics are composed of people who are not in face to face relation but who nevertheless display similar interests, or are exposed to similar, although more or less distant, stimuli. 1969G. A. & A. G. Theodorson Mod. Dict. Sociol. 324 Publics are usually large, physically separated, and often quite diverse... Publics have an impact through their voting, buying, noncooperation, financial contributions, letters to the editor, etc.
3. in public:
a. In a place, situation, condition, or state open to public view or access; openly, publicly: opposed to in private; so into public (rare). † Also, in or into a published form, in or into print (obs.).
c1450Mirour Saluacioun 916 Nor renne fro house to house to convers in publike [gloss in comon place]. 1611Shakes. Wint. T. ii. i. 197 Follow vs, We are to speake in publique. 1642Rogers Naaman 156 Their helpes in both publique and private, being few. 1642T. Lechford Plain Dealing To Rdr. (1867) 3, I have..presumed to enter into publique, for these reasons. 1662W. Gurnall Chr. in Arm. verse 17. ii. ix. (1669) 294/1 They read it at home, and hear it preacht powerfully in the publick. 1689Evelyn Let. to Pepys 12 Aug., The roome where he us'd to eate and dine in publiq. 1727Swift Country Post 2 Aug., Wks. 1755 III. i. 177 They having of late appeared very much in publick together. 1778F. Burney Evelina (1791) I. xxii. 119 She would never more take me into public. 1873Act 36 & 37 Vict. c. 89 §13 The inquiry shall be held in public before an officer.
†b. In a public or collective capacity. Obs.
1653Holcroft Procopius, Persian Wars i. 8 Bestowing many benefits upon their City in publique, and on particular men.
4. a. Short for public house. colloq. Cf. pub.
1709Churchw. Acc. St. Dunstan's, Canterb., For the Improvement of its [the newly-planted tree's] growth, aiournd to the publick and moistned it to the Root. 1799Southey Let. to T. Southey 5 Jan., ‘What, don't you keep a public?’ 1824Scott Redgauntlet ch. xv, He is a statesman, though he keeps a public. 1840Arnold Jrnl. 23 July, in Stanley Life (1845) II. App. C. 426 Iron foundries and publics have no connexion with mere book literature. 1863–5J. Thomson Sunday at Hampstead i. ix, We can take our beer at a public. 1899Sir A. West Recoll. I. ii. 67 There was a ‘public’ called the ‘Half-Way House’.
b. attrib. Of the public house.
1756Whitefield Life & Jrnls. 3 My Mother..kept me in my tender Years from intermeddling in the least with the public Business. 1807Crabbe Parish Reg. ii. 124 He..Felt the poor purse, and sought the public door. 1844Dickens Mart. Chuz. xiii, I suppose it was something in the public line.
c. Short for ‘public bar’. colloq.
1957N. Marsh Off with his Head ii. 29 The bar-parlour at the Green Man..lay at right angles to the Public. 1969M. Duffy Wounds i. 19 The pints of beer she had to pull for the pensioners in the public. 1971L. Lamb Worse than Death vii. 64 They had finished doing the bars, and..were having a cup of tea in the Public.
▸ public interest immunity n. Law (in the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth countries) a principle whereby the government may request that sensitive documents are not used as evidence in a trial, on the grounds that to do so would be against the public or national interest.
1979All Eng. Law Rep. 3 731 The judge..wrongly exercised his discretion when he refused to inspect unless public policy (of which *public interest immunity is a manifestation) required him to refuse. 1982Canada Supreme Court Rep. 2 690/1 Any testimony under oath..would result in a violation of Crown privilege (or public interest immunity). 1999A. Tomkins in M. Sunkin & S. Payne Nature of Crown vii. 171 Public interest immunity (PII) has become both controversial and newsworthy in recent years as a result of the government's extended use of PII in the context of criminal trials, most notably in the collapsed Matrix Churchill prosecution.
▸ public interest immunity certificate n. (in the United Kingdom) a document authorized by a government minister or senior civil servant which prevents specified information from being used in a trial.
[1982Times 8 May 6/5 The secretary of state had claimed public interest immunity. In such cases the court had first to peruse the public immunity claim certificate.] [1987Times (Nexis) 27 Nov. The Home Secretary had signed a certificate of public interest immunity which had restricted the questioning of Sir Robert by counsel for the newspapers.] 1988Times 10 Sept. 5/7 Treasury counsel acting for the Government, said he could answer the question within the bounds of two *public interest immunity certificates issued by two Cabinet ministers. 2000D. Bartlett in L. Cliffe et al. Politics of Lying viii. 130 [There was] widespread suspicion that ministers and officials had..sought to pervert justice by preventing the disclosure of documents through Public Interest Immunity Certificates.
▪ II. † public, v. Obs. rare.
[ad. obs. F. publicque-r (in Godef.) or ad. L. pūblic-āre, f. pūblic-us public.]
trans. To make public, to publish.
1487Sc. Acts Jas. III (1814) II. 179/1 That nane of þame tak apoune hand..to public or vse ouþer bullis or processis purchest or to be purchest. 1542Sc. Acts Mary (1814) II. 424*/2 To publicte þis constitutioune. 1570Levins Manip. 122/37 To publike, publicare. |