secretary
//ˈsɛk.ɹə.tə.ɹi//
Forms
- Plural
- secretaries
- present (v1)
- secretary
- past (v2)
- secretaried
- past participle (v3)
- secretaried
- present participle
- secretarying
- 3rd person singular
- secretaries
Definitions
1.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.
- None of us can type, Minister. Mrs. McKay types (laugh track). She's the secretary (laugh track).
2.The head of a department of government.
- Well briefly, sir, I am the Permanent Under Secretary of State, known as the Permanent Secretary.
3.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.
4.A type of desk, secretary desk; a secretaire.
1.To serve as a secretary of.
Frequency
Overall
Common· #1426
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Common
- General reading & writing
- Common
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Related words
Word family
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”).