privity

American  

[priv-i-tee] / ˈprɪv ɪ ti /

noun

plural

privities

1. private or secret knowledge.

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

3. Law. the relation between privies.

4. Obsolete. privacy.

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privity British  

/ ˈprɪvɪtɪ /

noun

1. a legally recognized relationship existing between two parties, such as that between lessor and lessee and between the parties to a contract

   privity of estate

   privity of contract

2. secret knowledge that is shared

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Other Word Forms

• nonprivity noun

Etymology

Origin of privity

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

Example Sentences

“The privity between a man and his wife cannot be known,” the judge ruled.

From New York Times • Apr. 8, 2016

Main reason: a spate of recent court decisions that have eroded the old doctrine of "privity" while enhancing the new doctrine of "strict liability."

From Time Magazine Archive

In the Goldberg case, relaxing the privity requirement also imposed "strict liability" on the manufacturer.

From Time Magazine Archive

Even so, the New York Court of Appeals ruled in 1963 that Mrs. Goldberg could sue Lockheed, though not the altimeter maker, thus conspicuously dispensing with privity.

From Time Magazine Archive

Washington was not consulted in the matter: the project was submitted to Congress, and sanctioned by them without his privity.

From The Student's Life of Washington; Condensed from the Larger Work of Washington Irving For Young Persons and for the Use of Schools by Irving, Washington