publication

[puhb-li-key-shuh n]

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noun

the act of publishing a book, periodical, map, piece of music, engraving, or the like.

the act of bringing before the public; announcement.

the state or fact of being published.

something that is published, especially a periodical.

Origin of publication

1350–1400; Middle English publicacioun < Latin pūblicātiōn- (stem of pūblicātiō) a making public, confiscation, equivalent to pūblicāt(us) (past participle of pūblicāre to make public) + -iōn- -ion

Related formsnon·pub·li·ca·tion, nounpro·pub·li·ca·tion, adjective

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

Related Words for publication

announcement, disclosure, reporting, dissemination, writing, broadcast, broadcasting, advertisement, publishing, issuance, brochure, information, booklet, pamphlet, magazine, book, periodical, newspaper, news, newsletter

Examples from the Web for publication

Contemporary Examples of publication

I do not believe we have a current count of fugitives for publication, but will inquire.
Cuba Protects America’s Most Wanted
Michael Daly
December 18, 2014
The publication said the plot was first uncovered by American intelligence.
U.S. Clams Up on Xmas Airline Bomb ‘Plot’
Shane Harris
December 2, 2014
The alleged plan was first reported in the British publication Express, citing anonymous security sources.
U.S. Clams Up on Xmas Airline Bomb ‘Plot’
Shane Harris
December 2, 2014
Now, with the publication of ‘Loitering,’ the uninitiated can discover what all the fuss is about.
Charles D’Ambrosio’s X-Ray Vision Is On Full Display In His New Essay Collection.
Steve Almond
November 14, 2014
UPDATE: Since publication yesterday, the Philae team learned that the probe bounced two times and apparently landed on its side.
Earthlings, We Landed on a Comet
Matthew R. Francis
November 12, 2014

Historical Examples of publication

Written years before, at the time of publication he was thirty-three.
'Tis Sixty Years Since
Charles Francis Adams
The fellow had practised upon my credulity to obtain my likeness for publication.
The Bacillus of Beauty
Harriet Stark
Soon after the publication of the book, a great calamity came on Fielding.
Joseph Andrews Vol. 1
Henry Fielding
The publication of this, as I told Mr. Wentworth, will really not matter at all.
A Woman Intervenes
Robert Barr
His Majesty had cognisance of it, and forbade the publication of the names.
The Memoirs of Madame de Montespan, Complete
Madame La Marquise De Montespan

British Dictionary definitions for publication

publication

noun

the act or process of publishing a printed work

any printed work offered for sale or distribution

the act or an instance of making information public

the act of disseminating defamatory matter, esp by communicating it to a third personSee libel, slander

Archaic word: publishment

Word Origin for publication

C14: via Old French from Latin pūblicātiō confiscation of an individual's property, from pūblicāre to seize and assign to public use

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 publication

late 14c., "the act of making publicly known," from Old French publicacion (14c.) and directly from Latin publicationem (nominative publicatio) "a making public," noun of action from past participle stem of publicare "make public," from publicus (see public (adj.)). Meaning "the issuing of a written or printed work" is first recorded 1570s; as the word for the thing so issued, from 1650s. Parallel publishment had a shadowy existence alongside this word, in local and specialized use, into the 18c.