secretary

A2 Topic:People & Society

US /ˈsɛk.(ɹ)əˌtɛɹ.i/ UK /ˈsɛk.ɹə.tə.ɹi/ See IPA manual

Freq #1880

Meanings

1

noun
a person who handles letters, phone calls, and office tasks for someone or an organization

My secretary will schedule the meeting for you.
2

noun
a senior government official in charge of a department

The Secretary of State held a press conference.
3

noun
a senior official who runs an organization such as a party or union

She was elected secretary of the trade union.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person who handles... secretarial assistant

More administrator amanuensis assistant clerk scribescrivenerseneschal

Word family

Forms secretaries

Derived forms nonsecretarysecretarialsecretaryesssecretarylesssecretarylikesecretaryshipsubsecretaryundersecretary

Related forms secretsecretariatsecretion secretivesecretorystenographertabellion

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

commerce secretary
the government official who leads the United States Department of Commerce

Noun + noun

Etymology

From Medieval Latin secrētārius (“one entrusted with secrets”), from Latin secrētus (“private, secret”), past participle of secernere (“to separate, set apart”), from se- (“apart”) + cernere (“to separate”).

*krey- Proto-Indo-European secrētus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# secretary

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈsɛk.(ɹ)əˌtɛɹ.i/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈsɛk.ɹə.tə.ɹi/
**Frequency rank:** 1880

## Meanings
1. a person who handles letters, phone calls, and office tasks for someone or an organization
2. a senior government official in charge of a department
3. a senior official who runs an organization such as a party or union

## Examples
- My secretary will schedule the meeting for you.
- The Secretary of State held a press conference.
- She was elected secretary of the trade union.

## Synonyms
- administrator
- amanuensis
- assistant
- clerk
- scribe
- scrivener
- seneschal

## Derived Forms
- nonsecretary
- secretarial
- secretaryess
- secretaryless
- secretarylike
- secretaryship
- subsecretary
- undersecretary

## Related Forms
- secret
- secretariat
- secretion
- secretive
- secretory
- stenographer
- tabellion

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *krey-
- Root: secrētus

## Etymology
From Medieval Latin secrētārius (“one entrusted with secrets”), from Latin secrētus (“private, secret”), past participle of secernere (“to separate, set apart”), from se- (“apart”) + cernere (“to separate”).

## AI Etymology
Secretary is from Medieval Latin secrētārius (“one entrusted with secrets”), from Latin secrētus (“private, secret”), past participle of secernere (“to separate, set apart”), from se- (“apart”) + cernere (“to separate”). Important forms in the word's history include Proto-Indo-European *krey-, Latin secrētus. In current use it includes senses such as a person who handles letters, phone calls, and office tasks for someone or an organization and a senior government official in charge of a department.

## Topics
- People & Society

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