late 16th cent.: 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 cent. 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.