Etymograph

English

publican

Publican may come from English house ‘(Britain) bar or tavern, often also selling…’.

  1. English1500–presenthouse1‘(Britain) bar or tavern, often also selling food and sometimes lodging, pub’uncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1890publican1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English publican
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1890, Rudyard Kipling, Tommy: “I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint…”.

Lineage

  1. English1500–presenthouseWiktionary, English publican‘(Britain) bar or tavern, often also selling food and sometimes lodging, pub’uncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1890publicanWiktionary, English publican. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1890, Rudyard Kipling, Tommy: “I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint…”

Every English word from English house

Another origin of publican

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleh₁-‘to fill’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*plēō‘to fill’uncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*poplos‘army’reconstructed
  4. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEpoplus
  5. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEpoplicus
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpūblicus‘public, general’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpūblicānus‘tax collector’
  8. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400publican
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500publican
  10. Englishtodaypublican

Pūblicum is a noun use of the neuter form of pūblicus (‘of or belonging to the people, state, or community; general, public’), ultimately from Proto-Italic *poplos (‘army’). Sense 3.2 (‘person excommunicated from the church; person who does not follow a Christian religion’) refers to Matthew 18:17 of the Bible: see the King James Version quotation under sense 1.

Today it means

noun The landlord (manager or owner) of a public house (“a bar or tavern, often also selling food and sometimes lodging; a pub”).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “publican”. 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 / English house / publican

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