secretary

[ sek-ri-ter-ee ]

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.
3. private secretary.
4. (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.

5. 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.
6. a piece of furniture for use as a writing desk.
7. Also called secretary bookcase. a desk with bookshelves on top of it.

secretary

/ -ərɪ; ˈsɛkrətrɪ; ˌsɛkrɪˈtɛərɪəl /

noun

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
3. (in Britain) a senior civil servant who assists a government minister
4. (in the US and New Zealand) the head of a government administrative department
5. See secretary of state
   (in Britain) See secretary of state
6. (in Australia) the head of a public service department
7. diplomacy the assistant to an ambassador or diplomatic minister of certain countries
8. See secretaire
   another name for secretaire

Derived Forms

• secretarial, adjective
• ˈsecretaryship, noun

Other Words From

• secre·tary·ship noun
• sub·secre·tary noun plural subsecretaries
• sub·secre·tary·ship noun
• under·secre·tary·ship noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of secretary¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of secretary¹

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

Example Sentences

Before that, the secretary himself, Raffensperger, met with von Spakovsky in the summer of 2019 at Raffensperger’s request.

From ProPublica

National Association of Secretaries of StateEvery state makes its own voting rules, so it makes sense that the secretaries of state, whose offices handle elections, would have banded together to help people vote.

From Popular-Science

The secretary of state said this would take a couple of weeks to resolve.

From Fortune

Included in the ban are ads purchased by election officials — secretaries of state and boards of elections — who use Facebook to inform voters about how voting will work.

From ProPublica

She previously served as the assistant press secretary and director of women’s media at the Democratic National Committee.

From Fortune

And compare, as noted up top, to Secretary Clinton, who spent years quietly pushing a modernized Cuba policy.

From The Daily Beast

The certification, which lasts three years, was renewed by then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in 2012.

From The Daily Beast

Even Defense Secretary Gates, at least for a time, was open to the notion.

From The Daily Beast

In order to withhold the photographs, the secretary of defense must certify that photographs could cause harm to Americans.

From The Daily Beast

ALEC echoed the ideology of Charles Wilson, the first Defense Secretary in the Eisenhower administration.

From The Daily Beast

He desired his secretary to go to the devil, but, thinking better of it, he recalled him as he reached the door.

From Project Gutenberg

At his desk sat his secretary, who had been a witness of the interview, lost in wonder almost as great as the Seneschal's own.

From Project Gutenberg

I should pay a capable secretary like you—knowing several languages and all that—say forty dollars a week.

From Project Gutenberg

Probably his Private Secretary, considering you a new man, will have failed to furnish the necessary information.

From Project Gutenberg

And here let me point out for your future guidance the importance of having a private secretary thoroughly up to his work.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• assistant
• clerk
• executive secretary