social secretary

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noun

a personal secretary employed to make social appointments and handle personal correspondence.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

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In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Origin of social secretary

First recorded in 1900–05

Words nearby social secretary

social process, social psychology, social realism, Social Register, social science, social secretary, social security, Social Security Act, Social Security Administration, Social Security System, social service

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use social secretary in a sentence

Russell highlights a pivotal moment in 1918 when Roosevelt found her husband’s love letters to her onetime social secretary, Lucy Mercer, and confirmed their affair.
How Greenwich Village shaped Eleanor Roosevelt|Karen Tucker|June 4, 2021|Washington Post
Upon his return, she unpacked his bag and discovered love letters between him and her social secretary, Lucy Mercer.
Eleanor Roosevelt: Feminist Icon|Eleanor Clift|September 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In 1997, at 32, Marshall was appointed social secretary, the youngest on record.
Washington's Protocol Chief Capricia Marshall Steps Down|Sandra McElwaine|August 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Case in point: longtime Obama family friend Desiree Rogers was appointed White House social secretary by President Obama in 2008.
Michelle Obama’s Friendship Secrets|Allison Samuels|April 20, 2012|DAILY BEAST

A potential ally in that pursuit: Jeremy Bernard, who was recently appointed White House social secretary, and who is openly gay.
Inside Obama's Gay-Marriage Decision|Daniel Stone|March 5, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Embattled White House social secretary Desiree Rogers finally stepped down yesterday.
Don't Cry for Desiree|Sandra McElwaine|February 27, 2010|DAILY BEAST
But this city isn't large enough to justify any one's keeping a social secretary.
Mary Ware's Promised Land|Annie Fellows Johnston
She is a social secretary, and all our mothers hire her to get up dances and to look after parties like ours today.
I Walked in Arden|Jack Crawford
Her visiting list was so small that she did not keep a social secretary, but, it was said, wrote her invitations herself.
The Man Who Could Not Lose|Richard Harding Davis
Her social secretary, a pretty girl, came and left with instructions to cancel invitations for the evening.
The Streets of Ascalon|Robert W. Chambers
The more he thought about this interview with the social secretary the more it disturbed him.
Good References|E. J. Rath

British Dictionary definitions for social secretary

social secretary

noun

a member of an organization who arranges its social events

a personal secretary who deals with private correspondence, etc

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