pública

Pública is the feminine form of the adjective público in Spanish and Portuguese, used to describe things related to the general population, the state, or the communal realm. It derives from Latin publicus and is used to indicate that something concerns the public or is open to the public, as opposed to privado (private).

In Spanish, pública agrees with feminine nouns. It appears in expressions such as administración pública (public administration), salud pública (public health), seguridad pública (public safety), propiedad pública (public property), and esfera pública (the public sphere). The term can also describe people or entities connected with public life, for example, persona pública (a public figure).

In Portuguese, pública similarly modifies feminine nouns. Common usages include administração pública (public administration), política pública (public policy), saúde pública (public health), segurança pública (public security), and empresa pública (state-owned company). The sense of public ownership or public interest is a frequent aspect of these constructions.

Distinctions: publicly oriented meanings are often paired with masculine nouns in their masculine forms (público) when the noun is masculine, such as setor público (the public sector). The feminine form, pública, appears when the noun it modifies is feminine.

See also: público (the generic term for the public or audience in masculine form), esfera pública (the public sphere), and phrases describing public institutions and services in both languages.