secretary

== English == === Alternative forms === secretarie (obsolete) === 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”). === Pronunciation === (UK) IPA(key): /ˈsɛk.ɹə.tə.ɹi/, /ˈsɛk.ɹə.tɹi/ (General American) enPR: sĕk'rətĕrē, IPA(key): /ˈsɛk.(ɹ)əˌtɛɹ.i/, [ˈsɛk.(ɹ)əˌtʰɛɹ.i] === Noun === secretary (plural secretaries) A person who keeps records, takes notes and handles general clerical work. (often capitalized) The head of a department of government. A managerial or leading position in certain non-profit organizations, such as political parties, trade unions, international organizations. (US) A type of desk, secretary desk; a secretaire. A secretary bird, a bird of the species Sagittarius serpentarius. (original sense, now obsolete) Someone entrusted with a secret; a confidant. (obsolete) Someone employed as a scribe for personal correspondence. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== secret secretion secretive secretory secretariat ==== Descendants ==== → Punjabi: ਸਕੱਤਰ (sakattar) ==== Translations ==== === Verb === secretary (third-person singular simple present secretaries, present participle secretarying, simple past and past participle secretaried) (transitive) To serve as a secretary of. ==== Quotations ==== For quotations using this term, see Citations:secretary. === Further reading === “secretary”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “secretary”, in The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia: […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC. “secretary”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.