Yahoo Web Search

Search results

1. Dictionary

   public school

   /ˌpʌblɪk ˈskuːl/

   noun

   • 1. (in the UK) a private fee-paying secondary school, especially one for boarders: "they didn't go to public school"
   • 2. (chiefly in North America) a school supported by public funds.

   Word Origin late 16th century: from Latin publica schola, denoting a school maintained at the public expense; in England public school (a term recorded from 1580) originally denoted a grammar school under public management, founded for the benefit of the public (contrasting with private school, run for the profit of the proprietor); since the 19th century the term has been applied to the old endowed English grammar schools, and newer schools modelled on them, which have developed into fee-paying boarding schools.

   Powered by Oxford Dictionaries

   More definitions, origin and scrabble points