Private

a. [Lat. privatus, apart from the state, peculiar to an individual, private, properly p. p. of privare, to bereave, deprive, originally to separate, from privus, single, private; It. privato, Sp. & Pg. privado, Pr. privat, Fr. privé.]

1Sense 1. Belonging to, or concerning, an individual person, company, or interest; peculiar to one's self; unconnected with others; not public; not general; separate; as, a man's private opinion, business, or concerns; private property; a private purse; a man's private expenses; private interests, &c.

2Sense 2. Sequestered from company or observation; secret; secluded; as, a private room or apartment; private prayer.

She retires Into her private cell, when nature rests. Milton.

3Sense 3. Not invested with public office or employment; as, a private man or citizen; private life. Shak.

A private person may arrest a felon. Blackstone.

4Sense 4. Not publicly known; not open; as, a private negotiation.

5Sense 5. Having secret or private knowledge; privy. [Obs.]

In private (Law), secretly; not openly or publicly.—Private act or statute, one which operates on certain individuals or particular classes of men, on a particular thing or private persons;—opposed to a general law, which operates on the whole community.—Private nuisance or wrong, one which affects individuals specially. Blackstone.—Private way, a right of private passage over another man's ground. Kent.

n. 1. A secret message; particular business. [Obs. or rare.] B. Jonson. 2. (Mil.) A common soldier; one of the lowest rank in an army; one not an officer.