The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Publish \Pub"lish\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Published; p. pr. &
   vb. n. Publishing.] [F. publier, L. publicare, publicatum.
   See Public, and -ish.]
   1. To make public; to make known to mankind, or to people in
      general; to divulge, as a private transaction; to
      promulgate or proclaim, as a law or an edict.
      [1913 Webster]

            Published was the bounty of her name. --Chaucer.
      [1913 Webster]

            The unwearied sun, from day to day,
            Does his Creator's power display,
            And publishes to every land
            The work of an almighty hand.         --Addison.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To make known by posting, or by reading in a church; as,
      to publish banns of marriage.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. To send forth, as a book, newspaper, musical piece, or
      other printed work, either for sale or for general
      distribution; to print, and issue from the press.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. To utter, or put into circulation; as, to publish
      counterfeit paper. [U.S.]
      [1913 Webster]

   To publish a will (Law), to acknowledge it before the
      witnesses as the testator's last will and testament.
      [1913 Webster]

   Syn: To announce; proclaim; advertise; declare; promulgate;
        disclose; divulge; reveal. See Announce.
        [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Announce \An*nounce"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Announced; p. pr. &
   vb. n. Announcing.] [OF. anoncier, F. annoncer, fr. L.
   annuntiare; ad + nuntiare to report, relate, nuntius
   messenger, bearer of news. See Nuncio, and cf.
   Annunciate.]
   [1913 Webster]
   1. To give public notice, or first notice of; to make known;
      to publish; to proclaim.
      [1913 Webster]

            Her [Q. Elizabeth's] arrival was announced through
            the country by a peal of cannon from the ramparts.
                                                  --Gilpin.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To pronounce; to declare by judicial sentence.
      [1913 Webster]

            Publish laws, announce
            Or life or death.                     --Prior.
      [1913 Webster]

   Syn: To proclaim; publish; make known; herald; declare;
        promulgate.

   Usage: To Publish, Announce, Proclaim, Promulgate. We
          publish what we give openly to the world, either by
          oral communication or by means of the press; as, to
          publish abroad the faults of our neighbors. We
          announce what we declare by anticipation, or make
          known for the first time; as, to announce the speedy
          publication of a book; to announce the approach or
          arrival of a distinguished personage. We proclaim
          anything to which we give the widest publicity; as, to
          proclaim the news of victory. We promulgate when
          we proclaim more widely what has before been known by
          some; as, to promulgate the gospel.
          [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

publish
    v 1: put into print; "The newspaper published the news of the
         royal couple's divorce"; "These news should not be printed"
         [syn: print, publish]
    2: prepare and issue for public distribution or sale; "publish a
       magazine or newspaper" [syn: publish, bring out, put
       out, issue, release]
    3: have (one's written work) issued for publication; "How many
       books did Georges Simenon write?"; "She published 25 books
       during her long career" [syn: publish, write]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

90 Moby Thesaurus words for "publish":
   advertise, air, announce, annunciate, bestrew, break it to,
   break the news, breathe, bring out, broach, broadcast, bruit about,
   circumfuse, come out with, confide, confide to, deal out, diffract,
   diffuse, disclose, dispense, disperse, dispread, disseminate,
   distribute, diverge, divulgate, divulge, engrave, evulgate,
   express, fan out, get out, give out, give vent to, hectograph,
   impress, imprint, issue, leak, let get around, let in on, let out,
   make known, make public, market, mimeograph, multigraph, out with,
   overprint, overscatter, oversow, overspread, print, proclaim,
   produce, promulgate, proof, propagate, prove, publicize, pull,
   pull a proof, put forth, put out, put to bed, put to press,
   radiate, reissue, report, reprint, retail, reveal, run, run off,
   scatter, sow, sow broadcast, splay, spread, spread about,
   spread out, stamp, strew, strike, tell, toot, utter, vent,
   ventilate



The Devil's Dictionary (1881-1906):

PUBLISH, n.  In literary affairs, to become the fundamental element in
a cone of critics.