Lexic.us

Definition of Secretary

1. Noun. A person who is head of an administrative department of government.

2. Noun. An assistant who handles correspondence and clerical work for a boss or an organization.

3. Noun. A person to whom a secret is entrusted.

4. Noun. A desk used for writing.

Definition of Secretary

1. n. One who keeps, or is intrusted with, secrets.

Definition of Secretary

1. Noun. (obsolete) Someone entrusted with a secret; a confidant. ¹

2. Noun. A person who keeps records, takes notes and handles general clerical work. ¹

3. Noun. (often capitalized) The head of a department of government. ¹

4. Noun. A managerial or leading position in certain non-profit organizations, such as political parties, trade unions, international organizations. ¹

5. Noun. (American English) A type of desk; a secretaire. ¹

6. Noun. A species of bird; ''Sagittarius serpentarius''. ¹

7. Verb. (transitive) To serve as a secretary of. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Secretary

1. [n -RIES]

Medical Definition of Secretary

1. 1. One who keeps, or is intrusted with, secrets. 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. 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. 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. Synonym: serpent eater. Origin: F. Secretaire (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, &. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Secretary

secreta secretage secretagogue secretagogues secretaire secretarial secretarial school secretarially secretariat secretariate

secretariates secretariats secretaried secretaries secretary secretary-general secretary bird secretary birds secretarybird secretarybirds

secretarying secretarylike secretaryship secretaryships secretase secrete secrete-metory secreted secreter

Literary usage of Secretary

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Encyclopedia Americana: A Library of Universal Knowledge (1918)
"This mode of payment would have enabled the Secretary more easily to effect ... 1861, giving the Secretary of the Treasury discretionary power to suspend ..."

2. Roughing It by Mark Twain (2001)
"CHAPTER I . Y brother had just been appointed Secretary of Nevada Territory—an office of such majesty that it concentrated in itself the duties and ..."

3. Proceedings by Institution of Municipal Engineers, London, Incorporated Association of Municipal and County Engineers, Association of Municipal and Sanitary Engineers and Surveyors (1881)
"THE CHAIRMAN said that the General Secretary had written to himself and Mr. Thomson, as members of the Council, asking for an expression of opinion as to ..."

4. Proceedings by American Society of Civil Engineers (1907)
"Shortly after the earthquake disaster at San Francisco in April, 1906, the Secretary of the Technical Society of the Pacific Coast, in a communication to ..."

5. Journal: 1st-13th Congress . Repr. 14th Congress, 1st Session by United States Congress. House (1843)
"And the Secretary withdrew. On motion of Mr. Stanly, Resolved, ... A letter from the Secretary of the Navy, transmitting the information called for by the ..."

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