secretary

[ sek-ri-ter-ee ]
See synonyms for secretary on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural sec·re·tar·ies.
  1. a person, usually an official, who is in charge of the records, correspondence, minutes of meetings, and related affairs of an organization, company, association, etc.: the secretary of the Linguistic Society of America.

  2. a person employed to handle correspondence and do routine work in a business office, usually involving taking dictation, typing, filing, and the like.

  1. (often initial capital letter) an officer of state charged with the superintendence and management of a particular department of government, as a member of the president's cabinet in the U.S.: Secretary of the Treasury.

  2. Also called diplomatic secretary. a diplomatic official of an embassy or legation who ranks below a counselor and is usually assigned as first secretary, second secretary, or third secretary.

  3. a piece of furniture for use as a writing desk.

  4. Also called secretary bookcase. a desk with bookshelves on top of it.

Origin of secretary

1
1350–1400; Middle English secretarie one trusted with private or secret matters; confidant <Medieval Latin sēcrētārius<Latin sēcrēt(um) secret (noun) + -ārius-ary

Other words from secretary

  • sec·re·tar·y·ship, noun
  • sub·sec·re·tar·y, noun, plural sub·sec·re·tar·ies.
  • sub·sec·re·tar·y·ship, noun
  • un·der·sec·re·tar·y·ship, noun

Words Nearby secretary

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use secretary in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for secretary

secretary

/ (ˈsɛkrətrɪ, -ərɪ) /


nounplural -taries
  1. a person who handles correspondence, keeps records, and does general clerical work for an individual, organization, etc

  2. the official manager of the day-to-day business of a society or board

  1. (in Britain) a senior civil servant who assists a government minister

  2. (in the US and New Zealand) the head of a government administrative department

  3. (in Australia) the head of a public service department

  4. diplomacy the assistant to an ambassador or diplomatic minister of certain countries

  5. another name for secretaire

Origin of secretary

1
C14: from Medieval Latin sēcrētārius, from Latin sēcrētum something hidden; see secret

Derived forms of secretary

  • secretarial (ˌsɛkrɪˈtɛərɪəl), adjective
  • secretaryship, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012