PRIVY

privy

(adjective) (followed by ‘to’) informed about something secret or not generally known; “privy to the details of the conspiracy”

privy, secluded, secret

(adjective) hidden from general view or use; “a privy place to rest and think”; “a secluded romantic spot”; “a secret garden”

outhouse, privy, earth-closet, jakes

(noun) a small outbuilding with a bench having holes through which a user can defecate

toilet, lavatory, lav, can, john, privy, bathroom

(noun) a room or building equipped with one or more toilets

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Adjective

privy (comparative more privy, superlative most privy)

(now chiefly historical) Private, exclusive; not public; one's own. [from early 13th c.]

(now rare, archaic) Secret, hidden, concealed.

With knowledge of; party to; let in on. [from late 14th c.]

Noun

privy (plural privies)

An outdoor facility for urination and defecation, whether open (latrine) or enclosed (outhouse).

A lavatory: a room with a toilet.

A toilet: a fixture used for urination and defecation.

(legal) A partaker; one having an interest in an action, contract, etc. to which he is not himself a party.

Synonyms

• (latrine, outhouse, or lavatory): See bathroom

• (fixture): See toilet

Source: Wiktionary

Priv"y, a. Etym: [F. privé, fr. L. privatus. See Private.]

1. Of or pertaining to some person exclusively; assigned to private uses; not public; private; as, the privy purse. " Privee knights and squires." Chaucer.

2. Secret; clandestine. " A privee thief." Chaucer.

3. Appropriated to retirement; private; not open to the public. " Privy chambers." Ezek. xxi. 14.

4. Admitted to knowledge of a secret transaction; secretly cognizant; privately knowing. His wife also being privy to it. Acts v. 2. Myself am one made privy to the plot. Shak. Privy chamber, a private apartment in a royal residence. [Eng.] -- Privy council (Eng. Law), the principal council of the sovereign, composed of the cabinet ministers and other persons chosen by the king or queen. Burrill.

– Privy councilor, a member of the privy council.

– Privy purse, moneys set apart for the personal use of the monarch; also, the title of the person having charge of these moneys. [Eng.] Macaulay.

– Privy seal or signed, the seal which the king uses in grants, etc., which are to pass the great seal, or which the uses in matters of subordinate consequence which do not require the great seal; also, elliptically, the principal secretary of state, or person intrusted with the privy seal. [Eng.] -- Privy verdict, a verdict given privily to the judge out of court; -- now disused. Burrill.

Priv"y, n.; pl. Privies (.

1. (Law)

Definition: A partaker; a person having an interest in any action or thing; one who has an interest in an estate created by another; a person having an interest derived from a contract or conveyance to which he is not himself a party. The term, in its proper sense, is distinguished from party. Burrill. Wharton.

2. A necessary house or place; a backhouse.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition