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# the privy

phrase (noun phrase, «the privy»; plural «privies»); «privy» is also an adjective («privy to» = allowed to know a secret)

«the privy» in the English dictionary: in the primary school — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## In the primary school

Source: Mova's pupils' dictionary. Licence: [Elamur Cosmic License](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/LICENSE/). Reviewed: the dictionary the pupils of Mova's primary school read; its examples quote the lessons and public-domain tales. Ships with Mova.

### Meaning

1. (old-fashioned) an outdoor toilet in a small hut, often over a pit.
2. (adjective, formal) «privy to something» = allowed to know a secret.

### In the lessons

An old word from the days before indoor toilets, found in history lessons, old stories and country talk. It is not rude, just old. The adjective sense is formal, used in official writing about secret information.

### Examples

- (history) In Victorian times many families shared a privy in the backyard.
- (story) Granddad had to walk to the privy in the snow.
- (museum) This little shed was the farm privy.
- (formal) Only the captain was privy to the secret plan.
- (official) The court heard that she was privy to the details.
- (joke) Our campsite toilet is more of a privy than a loo.
- (old book) He hid the letter behind the privy door.

### Note

Trap: «the privy» = a toilet; «privy to» = in on a secret. Linked to «private». The Privy Council in Britain is a group of the monarch's advisers, not a toilet!