privy
/ˈpɹɪvi/
privy adjective: private, exclusive; not public; one's own.
Adjective
privy (comparative more privy, superlative most privy)
- Private, exclusive; not public; one's own.
- The king retreated to his privy chamber.
- the privy purse
- Secret, hidden, concealed.
- Nonetheless, in the dark and privy stillness of our minds there are few of us who are not still haunted by worrisome doubts.1967, William Styron, The Confessions of Nat Turner, Vintage, published 2004, page 82
- With knowledge of; party to; let in on.
- He was privy to the discussions.
- William understood Diana more but idealized her less. He was privy to her volatile love life. He knew the tabloids made her life hell, but he also knew she colluded with them.April 5 2022, Tina Brown, “How Princess Diana’s Dance With the Media Impacted William and Harry”, in Vanity Fair
Noun
privy (plural privies)
- An outdoor facility for urination and defecation, whether open (latrine) or enclosed (outhouse).
- A lavatory: a room with a toilet.
- To counteract these degrading effects he advised that the privy should be in every house the room nearest to heaven, […].1921, Aldous Huxley, Crome Yellow, London: Chatto & Windus
- Synonyms:
- bathroom, latrine, necessarium, toilet, toilet room, urinal, water closet, WC, cloaca, closet
- A toilet: a fixture used for urination and defecation.
- Arconum—I found two chairs wanting in the gentlemen's room, and the bath room attached applied to other purposes... the privies and urinaries clean...1864 January 26, J.G. Lindsay, letter to P.P.L. O'Connel, §8
- A partaker; one having an interest in an action, contract, etc. to which he is not himself a party.
privy meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Telugu
privy in Tamil
- கழிகூடம், பிறிதான
privy in Urdu
- privy, latrine, outhouse, lavatory, toilet
- پاخانہ pāxāna
- privy, lavatory
- خلا xalā
privy in Bengali
- ব্যক্তিগত, কোনো গোপন বিষয়ে অবগত
privy in Telugu
- a privy, bathroom, washroom, water closet, lavatory, or toilet
- మరుగుదొడ్డి marugudoḍḍi, మరుగుపెరడు maruguperaḍu
More languagesFewer languages
- privy in Malayalam
- കളവായ, രഹസ്യമായ, ഗോപ്യമായ, സ്വകാര്യമായ
- privy in Kannada
- ತಳ್ಳುವೆಡೆ, ಕಳೆವೆಡೆ, ಗುಟ್ಟಿನ, ಒಬ್ಬನ
- privy in Gujarati
- પ્રિવી
- privy in Odia
- ପ୍ରାଇଭି
- privy in Nepali
- प्रिवी
- privy in Persian
- محرم mahram
Examples of privy in a sentence
- Down below in the privy kitchen they are roasting dottrels for dinner.
- Meanwhile, as many as eight "grooms of the stool" waited on kings when at privy.
- Spectators are privy to awe inspiring castles, baffling forks, and breathtaking en passants.
Synonyms of privy
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
- kocay
- siege
- cludgie
- netty
- six
- facilities
- lavatory
- lavabo
- necessary
- necessary room
- office of ease
- place
- potty
- small room
- smallest room
- throne room
- cottage
- geography
- khazi
- usual offices
- amenities
- restroom
- washroom
- comfort room
- CR
- closet of decency
- closet of ease
- house of office
- necessary place
- purging place
Forms of privy
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more privy |
| superlative | most privy |
| alternative form (obsolete) | privie |
| Noun | |
| plural | privies |
Origin of privy
From Middle English pryvy, prive, from Old French privé (“private”), from Latin prīvātus (“deprived”), perfect passive participle of prīvō (“to bereave, deprive; to free, release”). Doublet of private.
Words formed from privy
Phrases with privy
Words that rhyme with privy
Questions about privy
- What does privy mean?
- Privy means private, exclusive; not public; one's own.
- What is privy in Tamil?
- Privy in Tamil is கழிகூடம், பிறிதான. See Privy meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is privy?
- Privy can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce privy?
- Privy is pronounced /ˈpɹɪvi/.
Words near privy in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: privy (page history and authors); privy (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); خلا (Urdu) (page history and authors); privy (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); మరుగుదొడ్డి (Telugu) (page history and authors); privy (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); privy (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); privy (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); privy (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); privy (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “privy.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/privy. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.