privity

noun /ˈpɹɪvɪti/

1. A divine mystery; something known only to God, or revealed only in holy scriptures.

   countable, obsolete, uncountable

   But yet there is a place that men clepe the school of God, where he was wont to teach his disciples, and told them the privities of heaven.

2. Privacy, secrecy.

   archaic, countable, uncountable

   Him oft and oft I askt in priuitie, / Of what loines and what lignage I did spring[…].

3. A private matter, a secret.

   countable, obsolete, uncountable

4. A relationship between parties seen as being a result of their mutual interest or participation in a given transaction, e.g. contract, estate, etc.

   countable, uncountable

   There is no privity, (as the lawyers say),—that is, no mutual recognition, consent and agreement—between those who take these oaths, and any other persons.

Where it comes from

From Anglo-Norman priveté, privitee et al., Old French priveté, from privé + -té.

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry privity (CC BY-SA 4.0).

← privilyprizement →

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