Meaning

7 senses
  1. A person who keeps records, takes notes and handles general clerical work.

    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.

    Sekretär, Sekretärin

    секрета́рьsekretárʹ, секрета́ршаsekretárša

    секрета́рsekretár, секрета́ркаsekretárka

    an assistant who handles correspondence and clerical work for a boss or an organization

  2. (capitalized, often)The head of a department of government.

    Staatssekretär

    мини́стрminístr, секрета́рьsekretárʹ

    a person who is head of an administrative department of government

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

    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.

    Sekretär

  4. (US)A type of desk, secretary desk; a secretaire.

    Schreibsekretär, Sekretär

    секрете́рsekretɛ́r

    a desk used for writing

  5. A secretary bird, a bird of the species Sagittarius serpentarius.

    Sekretär

    пти́ца-секрета́рьptíca-sekretárʹ

  6. (obsolete)Someone entrusted with a secret; a confidant.

    a person to whom a secret is entrusted

  7. (obsolete)Someone employed as a scribe for personal correspondence.

Examples

317 sentences
  1. You're the new secretary, aren't you?

    Ви новий секретар, чи не так? — ascolto

    ruВы новый секретарь, верно? — odexed

    deSie sind die neue Sekretärin, nicht wahr? — mayabe

  2. The new secretary types faster than the old one.

    Нова секретартка пише швидше від попередньої. — deniko

    ruНовая секретарша набирает текст быстрее, чем прошлая. — corvard

  3. My sister works in a bank as a secretary.

    Моя сестра працює в банку секретаркою. — aandrusiak

    ruМоя сестра работает секретарём в банке. — papersaltserver

    deMeine Schwester ist Sekretärin in einer Bank. — MUIRIEL

  4. You need a secretary.

    Тобі потрібен секретар. — deniko

    ruТебе нужен секретарь. — odexed

    deDu brauchst eine Sekretärin. — mayabe

  5. My secretary told me you phoned.

    Моя секретарка сказала мені, що ти телефонував. — deniko

    ruМой секретарь сказал мне, что вы звонили. — Wezel

Translations

9 languages
Українська
By meaning 1
person keeping records and handling clerical work:
Русский
By meaning 4
person keeping records and handling clerical work:
head of a department of government:
type of desk:
sagittarius serpentarius:
Deutsch
By meaning 3
person keeping records and handling clerical work:
head of a department of government:
type of desk:

Origin

From Medieval Latin secrētārius (“one entrusted with secrets”), from Latin secrētus (“priv

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”).

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

plural: secretaries
Singularsecretary
Pluralsecretaries

regular

Synonyms

13 synonyms
Close in meaning
  • a desk used for writing:writing tableescritoiresecretaire
  • an assistant who handles correspondence and clerical work for a boss or an organization:secretarial assistant
  • a person to whom a secret is entrusted:repository

Word family

26 related words

Collocations

6 patterns
  • new secretary
  • as a secretary
  • a new secretary
  • had his secretary
  • secretary type
  • had my secretary

See also

neighbours in the dictionary

Dictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.

secretary — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto