3. Not invested with, or engaged in, public office or employment; as, a private citizen; private life. --Shak. A private person may arrest a felon. --Blackstone. 4. Not publicly known; not open; secret; as, a private negotiation; a private understanding. 5. Having secret or private knowledge; privy. [Obs.] Private act or statute, a statute exclusively for the settlement of private and personal interests, of which courts do not take judicial notice; -- opposed to a general law, which operates on the whole community