public domain

pub·lic do·main

P p

Definitions of public domain words

noun public domain the status of a literary work or an invention whose copyright or patent has expired or that never had such protection. 1
noun public domain land owned by the government. 1
noun public domain legal status: out of copyright 1
noun Definition of public domain in Technology (PD) The total absence of copyright protection. If something is "in the public domain" then anyone can copy it or use it in any way they wish. The author has none of the exclusive rights which apply to a copyright work. The phrase "public domain" is often used incorrectly to refer to freeware or shareware (software which is copyrighted but is distributed without (advance) payment). Public domain means no copyright -- no exclusive rights. In fact the phrase "public domain" has no legal status at all in the UK. See also archive site, careware, charityware, copyleft, crippleware, guiltware, postcardware and -ware. Compare payware. 1
singular noun public domain If information is in the public domain, it is not secret and can be used or discussed by anyone. 0
noun public domain lands owned by a state or by the federal government 0

before 1825

One of the 37% newest English words

An Americanism dating back to 1825-35

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adjective

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conjunction

determiner

exclamation

This term is known only to a narrow circle of people with rare knowledge. Only 6% of English native speakers know the meaning of this word.

According to our data most of word are more popular. This word is almost not used. It has a much more popular synonym.

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

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