'publicly-owned' originates from the combination of 'publicly' and 'owned', where 'publicly' is derived from 'public', meaning 'of the people', and 'owned' from 'own', meaning 'to possess'.

'publicly-owned' evolved from the concept of public ownership, which became prominent during the industrial era as governments began to take control of essential services.

Initially, it referred to any property owned by the public, but now it often specifically refers to government ownership.