Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Public in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels public as adjective. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913adjective
Public

[L. publicus, poblicus, fr. populus people: cf. F. public. See People.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordpublic
Part of speechadjective
Historical etymology[L. publicus, poblicus, fr. populus people: cf. F. public. See People.]
Selected historical definitionOf or pertaining to the people; belonging to the people; relating to, or affecting, a nation, state, or community; -- opposed to private; as, the public treasury.
Signed record IDwebster1913-public-adjective-a7ba677500d5
Source locatorCIDE.P, paragraph 17250; Gutenberg eBook 666
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 666Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "public" is labeled adjective. Its etymology is recorded as: "[L. publicus, poblicus, fr. populus people: cf. F. public. See People.]" The selected historical definition says: "Of or pertaining to the people; belonging to the people; relating to, or affecting, a nation, state, or community; -- opposed to private; as, the public treasury."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-09-05

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

More released P records

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noun

People

[OE. peple, people, OF. pueple, F. peuple, fr. L. populus. Cf. Populage, Public, Pueblo.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Part

[F. part, L. pars, gen. partis; cf. parere to bring forth, produce. Cf. Parent, Depart, Parcel, Partner, Party, Portion.]

Webster 1913 exact recordverb

Place

[Cf. F. placer. See Place, n.]

Webster 1913 exact recordverb

Please

[OE. plesen, OF. plaisir, fr. L. placere, akin to placare to reconcile. Cf. Complacent, Placable, Placid, Plea, Plead, Pleasure.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Power

[OE. pouer, poer, OF. poeir, pooir, F. pouvoir, n. & v., fr. LL. potere, for L. posse, potesse, to be able, to have power. See Possible, Potent, and cf. Posse comitatus.]

Webster 1913 exact record

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