"act of proclaiming, public exposure," late 15c., from publish (v.) + -ment. In American English, "official notice by a civic or religious official of an intended marriage" (by 1722).
Entries linking to publishment
publish v.
mid-14c., publishen, "make publicly known, reveal, divulge, announce;" an alteration (by influence of banish, finish, etc.) of publicen (early 14c.), which is from the extended stem of Old French publier "make public, spread abroad, communicate," from Latin publicare "make public," from publicus "public, pertaining to the people" (see public (adj.)).
The meaning "issue (a book, etc.) to the public, cause to be printed and offered for sale or distribution" is from late 14c., also "to disgrace, put to shame; denounce publicly." Related: Published; publishing. In Middle English the verb also meant "to people, populate; to multiply, breed" (late 14c.), for example ben published of "be descended from."
-ment
common suffix of Latin origin forming nouns, originally from French and representing Latin -mentum, which was added to verb stems to make nouns indicating the result or product of the action of the verb or the means or instrument of the action. In Vulgar Latin and Old French it came to be used as a formative in nouns of action. French inserts an -e- between the verbal root and the suffix (as in commenc-e-ment from commenc-er; with verbs in ir, -i- is inserted instead (as in sent-i-ment from sentir).
Used with English verb stems from 16c. (for example amazement, betterment, merriment, the last of which also illustrates the habit of turning -y to -i- before this suffix).
The stems to which -ment is normally appended are those of verbs; freaks like oddment & funniment should not be made a precedent of; they are themselves due to misconception of merriment, which is not from the adjective, but from an obsolete verb merry to rejoice. [Fowler]
publication n.
late 14c., publicacioun, "the act of making publicly known, notification to the people at large," from Old French publicacion (14c.) and directly from Latin publicationem (nominative publicatio) "a making public; an adjudging to the public treasury," noun of action from past-participle stem of publicare "make public," from publicus (see public (adj.)).
The meaning "the issuing of a written or printed work to the public by sale or distribution" is recorded by 1570s; as the word for the thing so issued and offered, from 1650s. Compare publicization. Parallel publishment existed alongside this word.