Related Searches
on Ask.com
secretary - 6 dictionary results
sec⋅re⋅tar⋅y
[sek-ri-ter-ee] 
–noun, plural -tar⋅ies.
| 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. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source
|
Link To secretary
| sec·re·tar·y (sěk'rĭ-těr'ē) n. pl. sec·re·tar·ies
[Middle English secretarie, from Medieval Latin sēcrētārius, confidential officer, clerk, from Latin sēcrētus, secret; see secret.] sec're·tar'i·al (-târ'ē-əl) adj. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Secretary
Sec"re*ta*ry\, n.; pl. Secretaries. [F. secr['e]taire (cf. Pr. secretari, Sp. & Pg. secretario, It. secretario, segretario) LL. secretarius, originally, a confidant, one intrusted with secrets, from L. secretum a secret. See Secret, a. & n.]1. One who keeps, or is intrusted with, secrets. [R.] 2. A person employed to write orders, letters, dispatches, public or private papers, records, and the like; an official scribe, amanuensis, or writer; one who attends to correspondence, and transacts other business, for an association, a public body, or an individual. That which is most of all profitable is acquaintance with the secretaries, and employed men of ambassadors. --Bacon. 3. An officer of state whose business is to superintend and manage the affairs of a particular department of government, and who is usually a member of the cabinet or advisory council of the chief executive; as, the secretary of state, who conducts the correspondence and attends to the relations of a government with foreign courts; the secretary of the treasury, who manages the department of finance; the secretary of war, etc. 4. A piece of furniture, with conveniences for writing and for the arrangement of papers; an escritoire. 5. (Zo["o]l.) The secretary bird. Secretary Bird. [So called in allusion to the tufts of feathers at the back of its head, which were fancifully thought to resemble pens stuck behind the ear.] (Zo["o]l.) A large long-legged raptorial bird (Gypogeranus serpentarius), native of South Africa, but now naturalized in the West Indies and some other tropical countries. It has a powerful hooked beak, a crest of long feathers, and a long tail. It feeds upon reptiles of various kinds, and is much prized on account of its habit of killing and devouring snakes of all kinds. Called also serpent eater. Syn: See the Note under Clerk, n., 4.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Language Translation for : secretary
Spanish:
secretario,
German:
der, *die Sekretär(in),
Japanese:
秘書
secretary
1387, "person entrusted with secrets," from M.L. secretarius "clerk, notary, confidential officer, confidant," from L. secretum "a secret" (see secret). Meaning "person who keeps records, write letters, etc.," originally for a king, first recorded c.1400. As title of ministers presiding over executive departments of state, it is from 1599. The word is used in both Fr. and Eng. to also mean "a private desk," sometimes in Fr. form secretaire (1818).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Main Entry: sec·re·tary
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -tar·ies
often cap 1 : an officer of a business concern who may keep records of directors' and stockholders' meetings and of stock ownership and transfer and help supervise the company's interests
2 : a government officer who superintends an administrative department
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
secretary
a writing desk fitted with drawers, one of which can be pulled out and the front lowered to provide a flat writing surface. There are many variations to this basic design. Early versions, which appeared in France in the first half of the 18th century, were made in one piece divided into two sections. The lower section consisted of a cupboard compartment closed in by solid or sliding doors that sometimes concealed a set of drawers; in some cases, however, the drawers were open to view. The upper section included a drop front that, when lowered, provided the writing surface and revealed an inner section fitted with various receptacles (such as pigeonholes, drawers, and recesses) for ink, paper, documents, and the like. Although this type persisted, a number of variations occurred, such as the addition of mirror doors above the upper, drop-front section and, later, the insertion of a space in the lower part of the secretary to accommodate the knees of the writer, the drawers being divided into two sections on either side of the arched recess.
Learn more about secretary with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
