Secretion comes from Latin 'secretio(n-)' ('a separation'), from 'secernere' ('to separate, set apart'), from 'se-' ('apart') + 'cernere' ('to sift, separate'). The historical chain includes Latin secretio and Latin secernere. Older glosses in the chain include "secretio(n-)", "a separation", "secernere", and "to separate, set apart", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, secretion is best read as compound and borrowing, yielding an English noun shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a noun, with the sense "the process or product of releasing a substance from a cell or gland". English derivatives include secretional; related forms include secrete, secretory, and secret. The result is an English noun whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.