publicness

[puhb-lik-nis]

noun

1. the quality or state of being public or being owned by the public.

Word History and Origins

Origin of publicness¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; public + -ness

Example Sentences

In this view, publicness is not about deliberation and collective action; it represents siloed, immovable identities each getting their piece of the pie.

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There are four aspects, intrinsic to gift giving, that further these positive effects: sacrifice, reciprocity, “publicness” and ritual.

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Among Maher’s wise choices is to accept that the very publicness of Baloch’s life makes her, on some level, unknowable.

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Its director, Alex Poots, formerly of the Manchester international festival, said its publicness was the very thing that attracted him to move there.

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That turn at the end of the sentence is pure Orlean; even when contemplating something as big and abstract as “publicness,” her sensibility veers toward the immediacy of the human touch.

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