Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

secretary general

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.84 in modern English

Syllables: sec-re-tary -gen-er-al
IPA

22

Scrabble Score

16

Letters

6

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The chief administrator of an international body such as NATO or the United Nations.

noun

The secretary of a non-Communist political party, governmental entity, or other NGO in many countries.

noun

Alternative letter-case form of Secretary General.

Etymology

Calque of French secrétaire général, hence the unusual order of adjective following noun (i.e., postpositive).

Inflected Forms

Secretaries General (plural) secretary-general (alternative)

Synonyms

First Secretary General Secretary SG

Questions

What does secretary general mean?: The chief administrator of an international body such as NATO or the United Nations.
Where does secretary general come from?: Calque of French secrétaire général, hence the unusual order of adjective following noun (i.e., postpositive).

How to pronounce secretary general

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