privity

[priv-i-tee]

noun, plural priv·i·ties.

private or secret knowledge.

participation in the knowledge of something private or secret, especially as implying concurrence or consent.

Law. the relation between privies.

Obsolete. privacy.

Origin of privity

1175–1225; Middle English privete, privite < Old French. See privy, -ity

Related formsnon·priv·i·ty, noun, plural non·priv·i·ties.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for privity

I must not forget to mention that I have received (probably not without your privity) Mr. Twining's valuable volume.
The Works of William Cowper|William Cowper
He doth ask by what right, privity, or pretence, ye appear within his castle or stronghold upon this island?
Traditions of Lancashire, Volume 2 (of 2)|John Roby
All this whole matter, even to my writing my Letter to Kid, was transacted with the privity and advice of the Councill.
Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period|Various
Washington was not consulted in the matter: the project was submitted to Congress, and sanctioned by them without his privity.
The Student's Life of Washington; Condensed from the Larger Work of Washington Irving|Washington Irving

But Judith had not meddled with the arrangement, and every necessary disposition was made without her privity or advice.
The Deerslayer|James Fenimore Cooper

British Dictionary definitions for privity

privity

noun plural -ties

a legally recognized relationship existing between two parties, such as that between lessor and lessee and between the parties to a contractprivity of estate; privity of contract

secret knowledge that is shared

Word Origin for privity

C13: from Old French priveté

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for privity

early 13c., from Old French privité, priveté "privacy; a secret, private matter" (c.1200), from prive "private," from Latin privus (see private (adj.)).