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.]
     1. 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.
  
     2. 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.

  Private \Pri"vate\, n.
     1. A secret message; a personal unofficial communication.
        [Obs.] --Shak.
  
     2. Personal interest; particular business.[Obs.]
  
              Nor must I be unmindful of my private. --B. Jonson.
  
     3. Privacy; retirement. [Archaic] ``Go off; I discard you;
        let me enjoy my private.'' --Shak.
  
     4. One not invested with a public office. [Archaic]
  
              What have kings, that privates have not too? --Shak.
  
     5. (Mil.) A common soldier; a soldier below the grade of a
        noncommissioned officer. --Macaulay.
  
     6. pl. The private parts; the genitals.
  
     In private, secretly; not openly or publicly.

  private
       adj 1: confined to particular persons or groups or providing
              privacy; "a private place"; "private discussions";
              "private lessons"; "a private club"; "a private
              secretary"; "private property"; "the former President
              is now a private citizen"; "public figures struggle to
              maintain a private life" [ant: public]
       2: concerning things deeply private and personal; "private
          correspondence"; "private family matters"
       3: concerning one person exclusively; "we all have individual
          cars"; "each room has a private bath" [syn: individual(a)]
       4: not expressed; "secret (or private) thoughts" [syn: secret]
       n : an enlisted man of the lowest rank; "our prisoner was just a
           private and knew nothing of value" [syn: buck private,
           common soldier]