Etymology

privy council

Today it means: A body of advisers to a sovereign, functioning much as a cabinet. Full definition →

Middle English prive
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The story

  1. Middle English · inherited fromprive“secret, private, confidential”
  2. English todayprivy council

From Middle English prive (“secret, private, confidential”) + counseil.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.