public

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman publik, public, Middle French public, publique et al., and their source, Latin pūblicus (“pertaining to the people”). Compare people. Displaced native Old English ceorlfolc.

adj

1. Able to be seen or known by everyone; open to general view, happening without concealment.
   Earlier this month Godwin had to make a public apology to the family of Daniel Morgan after the collapse of a £30m inquiry into his murder in 1987. 18 Apr 2011, Sandra Laville, The Guardian
   Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic[…]. Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become. When a series of bank failures made this impossible, there was widespread anger, leading to the public humiliation of symbolic figures. 2013-06-28, Joris Luyendijk, “Our banks are out of control”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 3, page 21
2. Pertaining to the people as a whole (as opposed to a private group); concerning the whole country, community etc.
   A mere 3% of the more than 1,000 people interviewed said they actually knew what the conference was about. It seems safe to say public awareness of the Convention on Biological Awareness in Nagoya - and its goal of safeguarding wildlife - is close to non-existent. 16 Sep 2010, Adam Vaughan, The Guardian
   In order to grant the rich these pleasures, the social contract is reconfigured. […] The public realm is privatised, the regulations restraining the ultra-wealthy and the companies they control are abandoned, and Edwardian levels of inequality are almost fetishised. 2013-05-17, George Monbiot, “Money just makes the rich suffer”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 23, page 19
3. Officially representing the community; carried out or funded by the state on behalf of the community.
   But culture's total budget is a tiny proportion of all public spending; it is one of the government's most visible success stories. 18 Jun 2004, “The Guardian”, in Leader
4. Open to all members of a community; especially, provided by national or local authorities and supported by money from taxes.
   Some are left for dead on rubbish tips, in refuge bags or at public toilets. 10 May 2011, David Smith, The Guardian
   Now we are liberal with our innermost secrets, spraying them into the public ether with a generosity our forebears could not have imagined. Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet. 2013-06-14, Jonathan Freedland, “Obama's once hip brand is now tainted”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 1, page 18
5. (of a company) Traded publicly via a stock market.
6. (not comparable, object-oriented programming) Accessible to the program in general, not only to the class or any subclasses.

noun

1. The people in general, regardless of membership of any particular group.
   Members of the public may not proceed beyond this point.
   Two or three months more went by ; the public were eagerly awaiting the arrival of this semi-exotic claimant to an English peerage, and sensations, surpassing those of the Tichbourne case, were looked forward to with palpitating interest. […] 1905, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, chapter 2, in The Tremarn Case
   Bush and Blair stand condemned by their own publics and face imminent political extinction. May 4 2007, Martin Jacques, The Guardian
2. (public relations) A particular group or demographic to be targeted.
   To the extent that you will use them to reach many other publics, the news media will also be one of your publics. 2005, Donald Treadwell, Jill B. Treadwell, Public Relations Writing: Principles in Practice, page 19
3. (archaic) A public house; an inn.