Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Privacy |
PrivacyNoun1. The quality of being secluded from the presence or view of others. 2. The condition of being concealed or hidden. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "privacy" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1258. (references) |
Note: Privacy \Pri"va*cy\, noun; plural Privacies. [See Private.]. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Computing | Privacy Where only the intended recipients can read a message. Source: The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing. |
Agriculture | The right to control the disclosure of personal information; often referred to as confidentiality, but more accurately might be called data protection. Many landowners, including farmers, have grown concerned that information about the condition of their land could adversely affect market and other values. (information). (references) |
Dream Interpretation | To dream that your privacy suffers intrusion, foretells you will have overbearing people to worry you. For a woman, this dream warns her to look carefully after private affairs. If she intrudes on the privacy of her husband or lover, she will disabuse some one's confidence, if not careful of her conversation. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted .... |
Language | Surtout en psychologie de l'environnement; concept perçu comme besoin individuel et social. Source: European Union. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Privacy is the ability of a person to control the availability of information about and exposure of him- or herself. It is related to being able to function in society anonymously (including pseudonymous or blind credential identification).According to Eric Hughes, "Privacy is the power to selectively reveal oneself to the world."[1]
Types of privacy giving rise to special concerns:
Some ways in which privacy is lost include the following:
- political privacy
- consumer privacy
- medical privacy
- information technology end user privacy; also called Data privacy
Some methods which have been used to defend privacy include the following:
- Waiver of privacy right included in the terms of a contract.
- Theft of confidential information, e.g. by computer cracking.
- Statutory or regulatory orders to provide private material (eg, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act in the UK)
- Compulsory National identity cards, especially when linked to central government databases
- Statutory or regulatory intrusion on private acts (assorted wiretapping provisions just about everywhere -- most do not include notice which can be opposed in a court)
- Involuntary "outing", e.g. of homosexuals, often by others of the same political category who seek openness over privacy, or opponents intent on shaming them.
- Non-transparent packages;
- Encryption of communications and other information;
- De jure establishment of privacy rights as an entitlement;
- sue, shun or harm those guilty of outing;
- toilets, showers and changing rooms separated by sex and/or with separate cubicles; partitions between urinals; possibility to lock the door;
- separate rooms for people in their house, possibility to lock the door, agreement to knock before entering (with or without waiting for a reply).
External Links
See also: The Transparent Society, carceral state, RFID, Data privacy, freedom, civil rights
- John Does.org internet anonymity site
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Privacy."
Synonyms: PrivacySynonyms: concealment (n), privateness (n), seclusion (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Concealment | La latitation; seclusion; privacy, secrecy, secretness; incognita. |
Refuge | Noun: refuge, sanctuary, retreat, fastness; acropolis; keep, last resort; ward; prison; asylum, ark, home,Noun: refuge, sanctuary, retreat, fastness; acropolis; keep, last resort; ward; prison; asylum, ark, home, refuge for the destitute; almshouse; hiding place; (ambush); sanctum sanctorum; (privacy). |
Seclusion Exclusion | Noun: seclusion, privacy; retirement; reclusion, recess; snugness; Adjective: delitescence; rustication, rus in urbe; solitude; solitariness; (singleness); isolation; loneliness; Adjective: estrangement from the world, voluntary exile; aloofness. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | If you're looking for female companionship, we can make arrangements that'll insure total privacy and-- (The American President; writing credit: Aaron Sorkin.) In the privacy of your study, only you would know the difference (The Seven-Per-Cent Solution; writing credit: Arthur Conan Doyle; Nicholas Meyer) We don't mean to invade your privacy, but was he ill, was he sick (Lake Placid; writing credit: David E. Kelley) I'll respect your every privacy. (The Collector; writing credit: John Fowles; Stanley Mann) No. I respected your privacy and I taught you self- reliance (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade; writing credit: Mario Van Peebles) | |
Lyrics | And I like it when you touch my privacy (What'Chu Like; performing artist: Da Brat) You privacy (Take A Picture; performing artist: Filter) Cause privacy is my middle name (Nasty; performing artist: Janet Jackson) No privacy glass (Dark and Metric; performing artist: They Might Be Giants) Privacy glass (Dark and Metric; performing artist: They Might Be Giants) | |
Movie/TV Titles | No Privacy (1931) Invasion of Privacy (1996) An Invasion of Privacy (1983) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
References | |||
Books | |||
Periodicals |
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Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
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High Tech |
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Consumer Goods | |||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit |  | Little things mean much, Privacy is a treasure, Pain can be shared... and fears lifted. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |  |
| "Legs, clothes and privacy 01" by Luciano Guedes Commentary: "I was there, doing nothing... then, I had an idea..." | "Love you?" by Ary Post Commentary: "No privacy." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Author | Quotation |
Fyodor Dostoevski | Sarcasm: the last refuge of modest and chaste-souled people when the privacy of their soul is coarsely and intrusively invaded. |
Gillian Anderson | Fame is complicated and definitely overrated. There are perks to it that are unfathomable. But the other aspect is there's little to no privacy at all—being anywhere at any time and knowing that somebody you cannot see is probably taking a picture of you, which has happened hundred of times. I look around and cannot see anyone and a couple of weeks later I see a photo of me looking around. |
Justice William O. Douglas | We are rapidly entering the age of no privacy, where everyone is open to surveillance at all times; where there are no secrets from government. |
Robert Browning | I give the fight up: let there be an end, a privacy, an obscure nook for me. I want to be forgotten even by God. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
United Nations | 1948 | No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. (reference) |
Roe v. Wade | 1973 | State criminal abortion laws, like those involved here, that except from criminality only a life-saving procedure on the mother's behalf without regard to the stage of her pregnancy and other interests involved violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which protects against state action the right to privacy, including a woman's qualified right to terminate her pregnancy. (reference) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | The privacy of the happy is respected |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Considerable care should be taken to ensure confidentiality of screening results and to maintain the privacy of the family. (references) | |
Every attempt should be made to protect individual rights and genetic and medical privacy rights and to prevent discrimination and stigmatization. (references) | ||
Among the issues are privacy and confidentiality policies related to genetic information and AD, and the small number of genetic counselors now trained in neurodegenerative disorders. (references) | ||
Business | Privacy is a big concern. (references) | |
One of the major concerns for security systems is in content privacy. (references) | ||
They care about being confident, and having availability and privacy throughout the transaction. (references) | ||
Children | Venezuela | Fears of entanglement with the authorities and societal ingrained attitudes regarding family privacy lead to underreporting of child abuse. (references) |
Civil Liberties | Hong Kong | In the first year of the new organization's work, it received 40 complaints from readers, who claimed intrusion of privacy, or complained of exaggerated, inaccurate, or overly graphic reporting. (references) |
Peru | PROLIBCO objects to the requirement to teach the Catholic religion in the school curriculum, and claims that the alternatives available to non-Catholic parents violate the constitutional protection of privacy and confidentiality of one's convictions and beliefs. (references) | |
Economic History | Uzbekistan | While admitting the serious infringement of basic rights for freedom of expression and right for privacy, we should emphasize that based on the opinions of local computer experts, UZPAK can not control all Uzbek web-sites with the existing equipment capacity. (references) |
South Africa | The new constitution's bill of rights provides extensive guarantees, including equality before the law and prohibitions against discrimination; the right to life, privacy, property, and freedom and security of the person; prohibition against slavery and forced labor; and freedom of speech, religion, assembly, and association. (references) | |
Uae | Commercials via TV and satellite channels offer an effective direct marketing approach reaching conservative UAE and expatriate women in the privacy of their homes. (references) | |
Human Rights | Armenia | There continued to be violations of the right to privacy during army conscription drives. (references) |
Comoros | Unlike in the previous year, there were no reports that police interfered with the privacy of the home. (references) | |
China | The legal exception for cases involving state secrets, privacy, and minors has been used to keep politically sensitive proceedings closed to the public and closed even to family members in some cases. (references) | |
Minorities | France | A number of court cases have been initiated against the Church of Scientology, generally by former members who have sued the Church for fraud and sometimes for the practice of medicine without a license, and some cases have been brought under the Data Privacy Act. (references) |
Political Economy | Malawi | Security forces at times infringed on some privacy rights. (references) |
Colombia | At year's end, the Superior Judicial Council (CSJ) reported that the judicial system was extremely overburdened; it received a total of 8.6 million suits in 1994-2000, of which 226,783 were criminal cases filed during 2000. The authorities sometimes infringed on citizens' privacy rights. (references) | |
Political Rights | Iraq | It included neither voter privacy nor opposing candidates, and many credible reports indicated that voters feared possible reprisal if they cast a dissenting vote. (references) |
Travel | Saudi Arabia | Photography of sensitive installations such as airports, seaports, oil and petrochemical facilities, and military bases is prohibited, as is photography that constitutes an invasion of privacy. (references) |
Women | Egypt | Due to the value attached to privacy in the country's traditional society, abuse within the family rarely is discussed publicly. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Madonna | Sure, I mean, when people start chasing you down the street, and I never had a moment of privacy, you know, or when people started taking shots at me and being nasty in the press. Things like that. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
Jimmy Carter | 1977-1981 | In the past four years we acted on the report of the Privacy Commission and established a national privacy policy. |
Bill Clinton | 1993-2001 | First and foremost, we have to safeguard our citizens' privacy. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Privacy" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 99.42% of the time. "Privacy" is used about 1,036 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 99.42% | 1,030 | 7,208 |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 0.29% | 3 | 202,518 |
| Noun (common) | 0.19% | 2 | 245,945 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.1% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 1,036 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| Country | Name |
| USA | Digital Privacy Inc. |
| (more examples...) |
Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.
Expressions using "privacy": as a matter of privacy ♦ Chief Privacy Officer ♦ disturb smb.'s privacy ♦ in privacy ♦ in strict privacy ♦ individual's right to privacy ♦ intrusion into privacy ♦ invasion of privacy ♦ live in privacy ♦ meet in privacy ♦ pretty Good Privacy ♦ privacy Enhanced Mail ♦ Privacy International ♦ right of privacy ♦ right to privacy ♦ Riordan's Internet Privacy Enhanced Mail ♦ secure privacy ♦ violation of privacy ♦ wired equivalent privacy. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "privacy": privacy-obsessed. | |
Ending with "privacy": almost-privacy. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
internet privacy | 6,506 | computer privacy | 80 |
privacy | 4,230 | invasion of privacy | 74 |
privacy fence | 543 | wood privacy fence | 72 |
bbc.co.uk privacy | 411 | privacy act 1974 | 66 |
privacy act | 362 | pretty good privacy | 65 |
online privacy | 310 | email privacy | 59 |
privacy screen | 205 | privacy statement | 56 |
privacy policy | 200 | privacy eraser | 55 |
cmp.com delivery privacy.html | 175 | privacy plus | 51 |
corporate disney.go.com legal privacy.html wdig | 169 | ibm.com privacy | 48 |
privacy guard | 167 | build a privacy fence | 46 |
right to privacy | 147 | hedge privacy | 45 |
privacy law | 140 | electronic privacy information center | 45 |
hipaa privacy | 132 | privacy manager | 45 |
privacy fencing | 128 | privacy window film | 45 |
privacy preference | 102 | internet privacy software | 44 |
corporate internet.com privacy privacypolicy.html | 97 | plus.com privacy | 43 |
privacy protection | 97 | outdoor privacy screen | 42 |
privacy software | 96 | mks plus privacy | 40 |
defender privacy | 82 | privacy issue | 39 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "privacy"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | vetmi (desolation, escape, oneness, solitude), intimitet (closeness, familiarity, love making), fshehtësi (conspiracy, furtiveness, privity, reserve, secrecy). (various references) | |
Arabic | سرية (company, darkness, hugger mugger, mystery, secrecy, stealthiness, wrap), عزلة (alienation, aloofness, desolation, isolation, loneliness, remoteness, retirement, seclusion, solitude), خصوصية (confidentiality, exclusiveness, feature, particularity, singularity, speciality). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | усамотение (intimity, retirement, seclusion, solitude), уединение (reclusion, retreat, sequestration, solitude), самота (desolation, loneliness, solitude), тайна (arcanum, confidence, dogbane, mystery, secrecy, secret, whisper), интимност (familiarity, informality, intimacy, intimity, inwardness, nearness). (various references) | |
Chinese | 隱私 , 保密性 (Privacies). (various references) | |
Czech | soukromí (retreat), dùvìrnost (closeness, confidence, familiarity, intimacy). (various references) | |
Danish | privatlivets fred, telehemmelighed. (various references) | |
Dutch | privacy, persoonlijke levenssfeer. (various references) | |
Farsi | پنهانی (Potential), پوشیدگی (Secrecy), تنهاءی (Solitude), خلوت (Sanctum, Solitude), اختفاء (Subterfuge). (various references) | |
Finnish | yksityisyys. (various references) | |
French | solitude. (various references) | |
German | Datenschutz. (various references) | |
Greek | ιδιωτικότητα (privateness), μυστικότησ (mysticalness, privateness, privity, secrecy), μυστικότητα (hugger mugger, mysticalness, privateness, privity, secrecy), μοναξιά (aloneness, desolation, loneliness, lonesomeness, seclusion, solitariness, solitude), προσωπικός βίος, ησυχία (calmness, ease, noislessness, oyster, quiescence, quiescency, quiet, quietness, quietude, stillness), ερημιά (desert, solitude, wilderness). (various references) | |
Hebrew | יחוד (distinction, setting aside, singularity, speciality, unification, union, uniqueness), פרטיות (individuality), צנעה (secrecy), סודיות (intimacy, secrecy). (various references) | |
Hungarian | magánélet, elvonultság (seclusion), titoktartás (secrecy, silence), magány (seclusion, sequestration, solitariness, solitude), egyedüllét (aloneness, loneliness, private, solitude). (various references) | |
Indonesian | kebebasan pribadi. (various references) | |
Italian | privatezza, personalità (characters, personality, worthy), vita privata, solitudine (loneliness, seclusion, solitude), riservatezza (discretion, reserve, reservedness, restraint), riserbo (discretion, reserve, secrecy), intimità della vita privata, intimità (deep, hearth, innermost, intimacy, intimate friends, nearness). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 隠密 (detective, secrecy, spy), プッシュプル増幅器 (placard, plaza, plug, plug compatible, plywood, PO, practical, practice, pragmatism, Prague, Pravda, price, price leadership, pride, primal, primary, primary care, primary health care, prime rate, prime time, priori, priority, private, private brand, private offering, private room, prize money, Puccini, pudding, push lock, push-button phone, pushing, push-pull amplifier, put), 内証 (internal evidence, one's circumstances, secrecy, secret), 内緒 (internal evidence, one's circumstances, secrecy, secret), 内密 (secrecy). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | おんみつ (detective, secrecy, spy), プライバシー , プライバシイ , プライバシ , プライヴァシー , ないしょう (internal evidence, internal wound, one's circumstances, prewar Home Minister, secrecy, secret), ないしょ (internal evidence, kitchen, one's circumstances, secrecy, secret, state of finances), ないみつ (secrecy). (various references) | |
Korean | 기밀 (Privacies, secrecy). (various references) | |
Manx | preevaadjys, cleaght (in concealment). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | ivacypray.(various references) | |
Portuguese | privacidade. (various references) | |
Romanian | tainã (arcanum, hugger mugger, mystery, ration, recess, reticence, secrecy, secret), loc retras (background, corner, retired spot, retirement, secluded spot, seclusion, snug), izolare (apartness, cloister, closeness, insulation, isolating, isolation, loneliness, offishness, retiredness, retirement, retiring, seclusion, secrecy), intimitate (closeness, familiarity, intimacy, intimity, secrets). (various references) | |
Russian | уединение (confinement, isolation, retreat, seclusion), секретность (privity, secrecies, secrecy, stealthiness), частная жизнь, тайна (arcana, arcanum, mystery, secret). (various references) | |
Scottish | uaigneas (secrecy, solitariness). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | privatnost, tajnost (hugger mugger, secrecy), osamljenost, odvojenost (apartness, seclusion, separation). (various references) | |
Spanish | privacidad, intimidad (closeness, familiarity, informality, intimacy, intimity, nearness). (various references) | |
Swedish | enskildhet (detail). (various references) | |
Turkish | yalnızlık (desolation, loneliness, singleness, solitude), mahremiyet, kişiye özellik (privity), gizlilik hakkı, gizlilik (closeness, confidentiality, darkness, furtiveness, hugger mugger, huggermugger, obscurity, secrecy, stealth, stealthiness), dokunulmazlık (exterritoriality, extraterritorial, extraterritoriality, franchise, immunity, privilege), özel yaşam. (various references) | |
Ukrainian | інтимність (intimacy, intimity), секретність (dark, privity, wraps), самота (closeness, confinement), відлюдність (closeness, offishness). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | sự riêng tư sự xa lánh, sự kín đáo (inconspicuousness, reserve), sự cách biệt sự bí mật. (various references) | |
Welsh | neilltuaeth (seclusion, separation). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
Misspellings | |
"Privacy" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Krivak, pravice, prifacy, privas, privasy, privcy, prively, privey. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "privacy" (pronounced prī"vusē) |
| 3 | -u s ē | accuracy, adequacy, advocacy, Argosy, aristocracy, autocracy, bureaucracy, candidacy, celibacy, confederacy, conspiracy, courtesy, degeneracy, delicacy, democracy, diplomacy, jealousy, legacy, ecstasy, embassy, fallacy, fantasy, Geodesy, heresy, hypocrisy, idiocy, illegitimacy, illiteracy, immediacy, inaccuracy, inadequacy, intimacy, intricacy, legitimacy, leprosy, literacy, lunacy, meritocracy, obstinacy, Odyssey, papacy, pharmacy, piracy, pleurisy, policy, primacy, prophecy, secrecy, supremacy, surrogacy, theocracy. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-c-i-p-r-v-y" | |
-1 letter: piracy. | |
-2 letters: carpi, pricy, privy, pyric, vicar. | |
-3 letters: airy, carp, cavy, crap, pair, pica, pray, pyic, racy, vair, vary. | |
-4 letters: air, arc, cap, car, cay, cry, icy, ivy, pac, par, pay, pia, pic, pry, pya, rap, ray, ria, rip, rya, vac, var, via, yap, yar, yip. | |
-5 letters: ai, ar, ay, pa, pi, ya. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-c-i-p-r-v-y" | |
+4 letters: hyperactive, perceivably. | |
+5 letters: hyperactives, overcapacity, provincially. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Images: Digital Art | 9. Quotations: Familiar 10. Quotations: Historic 11. Quotations: Fiction 12. Quotations: Non-fiction | 13. Quotations: Spoken 14. Quotations: Speeches 15. Usage Frequency 16. Names: Company Usage | 17. Expressions 18. Expressions: Internet 19. Translations: Modern 20. Derivations | 21. Rhymes 22. Anagrams 23. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
