secretary

[sek-ri-ter-ee]

noun

plural

secretaries 

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 secretary bookcase. 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. (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. another name for secretaire

Other Word Forms

• secretarial adjective
• secretaryship noun
• subsecretary noun
• subsecretaryship noun
• undersecretaryship 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

“There are tools to put more pressure on the Russians economically and militarily—and we’re not using them,” said Daniel Fried, a former U.S. assistant secretary of state for Europe.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

As treasury secretary, Bessent now sees merit in helping out an overvalued foreign currency.

Read more on Barron's

Many Democratic secretaries of states have resisted the efforts, saying that they break privacy laws and are an overreach of power.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"The first time the home secretary knew that the fans were being banned was last night," they added.

Read more on BBC

The highest-ranking individual to sell stock was Elaine Sanders, the company’s chief financial officer and corporate secretary.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• assistant 
• clerk 
• executive secretary