Definition of: private

(prī′vit) adjective
1. Removed from public view; retired; secluded; confidential; secret: a private parlor, a private agreement.
2. Personal or unofficial, as opposed to public; hence, without rank: a private citizen, private property, a private soldier.
3. Not common or general; special: a private interpretation.
4. Obs. Privy. See synonyms under SECRET.
—noun
1. A soldier in the ranks. See table under GRADE.
2. plural The private parts; genitals.
3. Privacy.
—in private In secret; privately. See synonyms under SECRET. [<L privatus apart from the state, orig. pp. of privare set apart <privus single, one's own. Doublet of PRIVY.]
—pri′vate·ly adverb
—pri′vate·ness noun