private

Definition

Belonging or pertaining to an individual person, group of people, or entity that is not the state.

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.

Example Sentences

• "In some countries, healthcare is provided by both the government and private companies."
• "Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16.[…]There are no inspectors, no exams until the age of 18, no school league tables, no private tuition industry, no school uniforms."
• "This book is her private journal."