secretary
noun
- occupation
- position within an organisation or club
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈsɛk.ɹə.tə.ɹi/ / /ˈsɛk.ɹə.tɹi/ / /ˈsɛk.(ɹ)əˌtɛɹ.i/
name
Etymology: Named by Lord Baltimore after his secretary.
- A town in Maryland.
noun
Etymology: From Medieval Latin secrētārius (“one entrusted with secrets”), from Latin secrētus (“private, secret”), past participle of secernere (“to separate, set apart”), from se- (“apart”) + cernere (“to separate”).
- A person who keeps records, takes notes and handles general clerical work.
“I have a personal secretary to help me organize my clients.”
“The secretary at the school is in charge of communication between parents, students, and staff.”
- The head of a department of government.
“Well briefly, sir, I am the Permanent Under Secretary of State, known as the Permanent Secretary.”
- A managerial or leading position in certain non-profit organizations, such as political parties, trade unions, international organizations.
“Ban Ki-Moon was a secretary general of the United Nations.”
“As the Soviet Union collapsed, the party secretaries in the Central Asian republics found themselves leaders of newly-established sovereign countries.”
- A type of desk, secretary desk; a secretaire.
- A secretary bird, a bird of the species Sagittarius serpentarius.
- Someone entrusted with a secret; a confidant.
- Someone employed as a scribe for personal correspondence.
“"Do not give yourself any uneasiness about one so utterly unworthy of a thought! Sir George Kingston is without one grain of either honour or real feeling! The fact is, I have, for some months past, been his secretary, and wrote for him the letters which were sent you!"”
verb
Etymology: From Medieval Latin secrētārius (“one entrusted with secrets”), from Latin secrētus (“private, secret”), past participle of secernere (“to separate, set apart”), from se- (“apart”) + cernere (“to separate”).
- To serve as a secretary of.