Publicly

How to spell publicly

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce publicly

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does publicly mean?

1. adverbIn a way that is open to or known by people in general, rather than privately.

Publicly in a sentence

• The minister publicly apologised for the delayed report.

• The company publicly committed to cutting its emissions by half.

Where does publicly come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin publicus, meaning 'belonging to the people' or 'of the community', which was itself a blend of populus 'the people' and an older form pubes meaning 'adult men'. The adjective 'public' came into English from Latin by way of Old French during the late 1300s, carrying the sense of something open to or affecting the whole community rather than private individuals. The adverb 'publicly' was then formed inside English by adding the everyday suffix -ly to the adjective 'public'. The crucial spelling point is that the adverb is built directly on 'public', so it keeps the simple -ly ending without inserting an extra 'al'; this is why 'publically' is a stubborn but incorrect spelling. Most adjectives ending in -ic do take -ally (basically, dramatically), which is exactly what tempts careful writers into the wrong form, making 'publicly' a notable exception worth remembering.

How the word is built

• public (from Latin publicus: of the people)
• -ly (adverb suffix)