Etymograph

English

private

Private comes from Middle English privat ‘individual, exclusive, private’, from Latin prīvātus ‘bereaved, deprived, set apart from, release’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*prei1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*preiwos1‘separate’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprīvus1‘single’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprīvō2‘to bereave’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprīvātus2‘bereaved’perfect passive participle of prīvō
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500privat2‘individual’
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596private2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin privo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English private
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1596, William Shakespeare, The Life and Death of King Iohn: “The Count Meloone, a Noble Lord of France, Whose…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-Wiktionary, Latin privoreconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*preiWiktionary, Latin privoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*preiwosWiktionary, Latin privo‘separate’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprīvusWiktionary, Latin privo‘single’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprīvōWiktionary, English private‘to bereave’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprīvātusWiktionary, English private‘bereaved’perfect passive participle of prīvō
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500privatWiktionary, English private‘individual’
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596privateWiktionary, English private. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1596, William Shakespeare, The Life and Death of King Iohn: “The Count Meloone, a Noble Lord of France, Whose…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *per-

first, before, support, far, per, report, further, fear, opportunity, press, practice, price, port, pre, afford, ford, primary, forth, pregnant, prior, prime, practical, appreciate, parade, par, precious, prize, praise, ferry, fare, porch, interpretation, pardon, pirate, afar, primitive, pore, petra, prix, proton, 154 more

through Latin prīvus ‘single’

privilege, 3 more

through Latin prīvātus ‘bereaved, deprived, set apart from, release’

privy, 3 more

Today it means

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

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “private”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin privo. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *per- / private

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