PRIVY, in law, is a partaker, or person having an interest, in any action or thing. In this sense they say, privies in blood: every heir in tail is privy to recover the land intailed. In old law-books, merchants privy are opposed to merchants strangers. Coke mentions four kinds of privies. Privies in blood, as the heir to his father; privies in representation, as executors and administrators to the deceased; privies in estate, as he in reversion, and he in remainder donor donee; lessor and lessee: lastly, privy in tenure, as the lord by escheat; i.e. when land escheats to the lord for want of heirs.