From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Public \Pub"lic\, a. [L. publicus, poblicus, fr. populus people:
cf. F. public. See {People}.]
1. Of or pertaining to the people; belonging to the people;
relating to, or affecting, a nation, state, or community;
-- opposed to {private}; as, the public treasury.
[1913 Webster]
To the public good
Private respects must yield. --Milton.
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He [Alexander Hamilton] touched the dead corpse of
the public credit, and it sprung upon its feet. --D.
Webster.
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2. Open to the knowledge or view of all; general; common;
notorious; as, public report; public scandal.
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Joseph, . . . not willing to make her a public
example, was minded to put her away privily. --Matt.
i. 19.
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3. Open to common or general use; as, a public road; a public
house. "The public street." --Shak.
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{public act} or {public statute} (Law), an act or statute
affecting matters of public concern. Of such statutes the
courts take judicial notice.
{Public credit}. See under {Credit}.
{Public funds}. See {Fund}, 3.
{Public house}, an inn, or house of entertainment.
{Public law}.
(a) See {International law}, under {International}.
(b) A public act or statute.
{Public nuisance}. (Law) See under {Nuisance}.
{Public orator}. (Eng. Universities) See {Orator}, 3.
{Public stores}, military and naval stores, equipments, etc.
{Public works}, all fixed works built by civil engineers for
public use, as railways, docks, canals, etc.; but
strictly, military and civil engineering works constructed
at the public cost.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
public nuisance
n 1: a nuisance that unreasonably interferes with a right that
is common to the general public; "a public nuisance offends
the public at large" [syn: {public nuisance}, {common
nuisance}]
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