secretariat

[sek-ri-tair-ee-uht] Origin

sec·re·tar·i·at

[sek-ri-tair-ee-uht]
noun
1.
the officials or office entrusted with administrative duties, maintaining records, and overseeing or performing secretarial duties, especially for an international organization: the secretariat of the United Nations.
2.
a group or department of secretaries.
3.
the place where a secretary transacts business, preserves records, etc.
Also, sec·re·tar·i·ate.


Origin:
1805–15; < French secrétariat < Medieval Latin sēcrētāriātus. See secretary, -ate3
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To secretariat

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Secretariat has a plethora of syllables.
So is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Does it mean:
(used as a nonsense word by children to express approval or to represent the longest word in English.)
the estimation of something as valueless (encountered mainly as an example of one of the longest words in the English language).
Collins
World English Dictionary
secretariat (ˌsɛkrɪˈtɛərɪət)
 
n
1.  a.  an office responsible for the secretarial, clerical, and administrative affairs of a legislative body, executive council, or international organization
 b.  the staff of such an office
 c.  the building or rooms in which such an office is housed
2.  a body of secretaries
3.  a secretary's place of work; office
4.  the position of a secretary
 
[C19: via French from Medieval Latin sēcrētāriātus, from sēcrētāriussecretary]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

secretariat
"office of secretary," 1811, from Fr. secrétariat, from M.L. secretarius (see secretary).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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