secretary
/ˈsɛk.(ɹ)əˌtɛɹ.i/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.95 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
4
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The head of a department of government.
noun
A managerial or leading position in certain non-profit organizations, such as political parties, trade unions, international organizations.
noun
A secretary bird, a bird of the species Sagittarius serpentarius.
Example Sentences
- "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)."
- "Well briefly, sir, I am the Permanent Under Secretary of State, known as the Permanent Secretary."
- "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."
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”).
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈsɛk.(ɹ)əˌtɛɹ.i/
- British English: /ˈsɛk.ɹə.tə.ɹi/
Usage
- American usage
- Obsolete
- Transitive verb