secretaire

[sek-ri-tair]

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noun French Furniture.

any writing desk resembling a secretary.

Origin of secretaire

1810–20; < French secrétaire secretary

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for secretaire

bureau, davenport, escritoire, desk, secretary

Examples from the Web for secretaire

Historical Examples of secretaire

She got up and went back to the secretaire, as if trying to restrain herself.
The Fat and the Thin
Emile Zola
She sat down at the secretaire, and glanced over the page of figures.
The Fat and the Thin
Emile Zola
And he tapped the veneered top of the secretaire with his forefinger.
The Lion's Skin
Rafael Sabatini
She had closed and locked the secretaire and she handed the man the key.
The Green Rust
Edgar Wallace
Mrs. Soher began to dust a secretaire, talking all the while to her niece.
The Silver Lining
John Roussel

British Dictionary definitions for secretaire

secretaire

noun

an enclosed writing desk, usually having an upper cabinet section

Word Origin for secretaire

C19: from French secrétaire; see secretary

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

Word Origin and History for secretaire

cabinet for private papers, 1771, from French secrétaire (13c.), from Medieval Latin secretarius (see secretary). Englished form secretary is attested in this sense from 1803.