Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

secern

/səˈsɝn/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables
se-cern
IPA
/səˈsɝn/
8
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To separate or set apart (someone or something from other persons or things).

Archaic; Literary; Transitive verb

verb

To separate (something from other things) in the mind; to discriminate, to distinguish.

Literary; Transitive verb

verb

Synonym of secrete (“to extract or separate (a substance) from the blood, etc., for excretion or for the fulfilling of a physiological function”).

Archaic; Literary; Transitive verb

verb

Of a person or thing: to become separated from others.

Intransitive verb; Literary

verb

To secrete a substance.

Intransitive verb; Literary

Example Sentences

Etymology

PIE word *swé Learned borrowing from Latin sēcernere, the present active infinitive of sēcernō (“to put apart, divide, separate, sever, sunder; (figuratively) to disjoin, dissociate, part; to discern, distinguish; to exclude, pull aside, set aside, reject”), from sē- (prefix meaning ‘apart; aside; away’) + cernō (“to divide, separate; to distinguish, sift; to perceive, see; to comprehend, discern, regard, understand; to decide”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *krey- (“to divide, separate, sift”)). Senses 1.3 and 2.2 (“synonym of secrete”) derive from the use of the Latin word sēcernere to translate Ancient Greek ἀποκρίνειν (apokrínein), the active infinitive participle of ἀποκρίνω (apokrínō, “to set apart, separate; to choose; to reject on inquiry; to answer, reply”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /səˈsɝn/
  • British English: /sɪˈsɜːn/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce secern?
The recorded pronunciation is /səˈsɝn/.
What does secern mean?
To separate or set apart (someone or something from other persons or things).
Where does secern come from?
It is traced to Proto-Indo-European.

How to pronounce secern

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “secern”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/səˈsɝn/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “secern”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “secern” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.