English
privacy
From priv(ate) + -acy.
Proto-Indo-European *per-
…
Latin prīvus ‘single’
Latin prīvō ‘to bereave’
Latin prīvātus ‘bereaved’
Middle English privat ‘individual’
English private
Today it means
noun The state of being secluded from the presence, sight, or knowledge of others.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “privacy”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / privacy