Publication
late Middle English (in the sense ‘public announcement or declaration’): via Old French from Latin publicatio(n- ), from publicare ‘make public’ (see publish).
wiktionary
From Middle English publicacioun, from Old French publicacion, from Latin pūblicātiō.
etymonline
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.
