The Collaborative International Dictionary
Private \Pri"vate\ (?; 48), a. [L. privatus apart from the state, peculiar to an individual, private, properly p. p. of privare to bereave, deprive, originally, to separate, fr. privus single, private, perhaps originally, put forward (hence, alone, single) and akin to prae before. See Prior, a., and cf. Deprive, Privy, a.]
Belonging to, or concerning, an individual person, company, or interest; peculiar to one's self; unconnected with others; personal; one's own; not public; not general; separate; as, a man's private opinion; private property; a private purse; private expenses or interests; a private secretary.
-
Sequestered from company or observation; appropriated to an individual; secret; secluded; lonely; solitary; as, a private room or apartment; private prayer.
Reason . . . then retires Into her private cell when nature rests.
--Milton. -
Not invested with, or engaged in, public office or employment; as, a private citizen; private life.
--Shak.A private person may arrest a felon.
--Blackstone. Not publicly known; not open; secret; as, a private negotiation; a private understanding.
-
Having secret or private knowledge; privy. [Obs.]
Private act or Private statute, a statute exclusively for the settlement of private and personal interests, of which courts do not take judicial notice; -- opposed to a general law, which operates on the whole community. In the United States Congress, similar private acts are referred to as private law and a general law as a public law.
Private nuisance or wrong. See Nuisance.
Private soldier. See Private, n., 5.
Private way, a right of private passage over another man's ground; also, a road on private land, contrasted with public road, which is on a public right of way.
--Kent.
Usage examples of "private act".
Whether we (and here I do mean we as society, for what I do is not the private act of an isolated individual but is part of socially produced work) want it is of course a social decision, because science is a social activity, funded by government and industry.
His lips were pulled back from his teeth, his breaths were coming in small, excited pants and his eyes had that look people get when they are engaged in a private act.
He finished, seeming a little tired and even a little ashamed of his outburst, like a man surprised in a private act.
He would prefer not to make public a private act of gratitude and respect.
Of how even that most private act had been overlooked by the European.
It was a most public way of accomplishing a most private act, and I felt vaguely embarrassed to be looking.
So each night he leaves out a few items of relatively little value, ostensibly to indicate the nature of the shop's stock, but really as a private act of propitiatory magic.