'publicly-shown' originates from the combination of 'publicly' and 'shown', where 'publicly' is derived from 'public', meaning 'of the people', and 'shown' is the past participle of 'show', meaning 'to display'.

'publicly-shown' evolved from the Middle English word 'public' and the Old English word 'sceawian', which meant 'to look at'.

Initially, it meant 'to be seen by the public', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.