| secretary (def. 5). |
[sek-ri-ter-ee] 
| 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. |