different between reclusive vs privy

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /???klu?s?v/

Adjective

reclusive (comparative more reclusive, superlative most reclusive)

1. Of, characterized by, or preferring privacy and isolation; secluded.
   • And if it sort not well, you may conceal her,

     As best befits her wounded reputation,

     In some reclusive and religious life,

     Out of all eyes, tongues, minds and injuries.

Synonyms

• hermit-like
• withdrawn

Related terms

• recluse
• reclusively
• reclusiveness

Translations

English

Alternative forms

• privie (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English pryvy, prive, from Old French privé (“private”), from Latin pr?v?tus (“deprived”), perfect passive participle of pr?v? (“I bereave, deprive; I free, release”). Doublet of private.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?p??v.i/

Adjective

privy (comparative more privy, superlative most privy)

1. (now chiefly historical) Private, exclusive; not public; one's own. [from early 13th c.]

2. (now rare, archaic) Secret, hidden, concealed.
3. With knowledge of; party to; let in on. [from late 14th c.]

Derived terms

• privy council

Translations

Noun

privy (plural privies)

1. An outdoor facility for urination and defecation, whether open (latrine) or enclosed (outhouse).
2. A lavatory: a room with a toilet.
3. A toilet: a fixture used for urination and defecation.
   • 1864 January 26, J.G. Lindsay, letter to P.P.L. O'Connel, §8:

     Arconum—I found two chairs wanting in the gentlemen's room, and the bath room attached applied to other purposes... the privies and urinaries clean...

4. (law) A partaker; one having an interest in an action, contract, etc. to which he is not himself a party.

Synonyms

• (latrine, outhouse, or lavatory): See Thesaurus:bathroom
• (fixture): See Thesaurus:toilet

Derived terms

• privy house

Translations