Definitions for Secretary
ˈsɛk rɪˌtɛr isec·re·ta·ry

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. secretarynoun

   a person who is head of an administrative department of government

2. secretary, secretarial assistantnoun

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

3. repository, secretarynoun

   a person to whom a secret is entrusted

4. secretary, writing table, escritoire, secretairenoun

   a desk used for writing

WiktionaryRate this definition:4.0 / 1 vote

1. secretarynoun

   Someone entrusted with a secret; a confidant.

2. secretarynoun

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

3. secretarynoun

   The head of a department of government.

4. secretarynoun

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

   Ban Ki-Moon is the current secretary general of the United Nations.

5. secretarynoun

   A type of desk; a secretaire.

6. secretarynoun

   A species of bird; Sagittarius serpentarius.

7. secretaryverb

   To serve as a secretary of.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Secretarynoun

   One entrusted with the management of business; one who writes for another.

   Etymology: secretaire, Fr. secretarius, low Latin.

   Call Gardiner to me, my new secretary. William Shakespeare.

   That which is most of all profitable is acquaintance with the secretaries, and employed men of ambassadors. Francis Bacon.

   Cottington was secretary to the prince. Edward Hyde.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Secretary

   A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a white-collar worker person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication, or organizational skills within the area of administration. There is a diverse array of work experiences attainable within the administrative support field, ranging between internship, entry-level, associate, junior, mid-senior, and senior level pay bands with positions in nearly every industry. However, this role should not be confused with the role of an executive secretary, cabinet secretary such as cabinet members who hold the title of "secretary," or company secretary, all which differ from an administrative assistant. The functions of a personal assistant may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit of more than one. In other situations, a secretary is an officer of a society or organization who deals with correspondence, admits new members, and organizes official meetings and events. Some high-level secretaries, administrative assistants, or executive assistants in the associate, junior, mid-senior, and senior level pay bands or those in an entry-level position that requires specialized knowledge acquired through a bachelor's degree or even a master's degree in a field pertinent to the organization's industry are specialized secretaries who generally assist senior executives and/or actively participate in the work of the organization such has having a hands-on involvement on the production of deliverables. Some non-secretarial positions such as legislative assistants, paralegals, judicial law clerks, clerks of the court, medical assistants, and medical scribes that require bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degrees to practice, have at times taken up duties identical to that of specialized secretaries and vice versa where specialized secretaries have taken up the tedious and repetitive research and recordkeeping tasks of persons they assist.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. secretary

   A secretary is a person employed by an individual or in an office to assist with correspondence, keep records, make appointments, and carry out similar administrative tasks. They often serve as a primary point of contact for the individual or organization they work for, managing schedules and communications. They can also perform other duties depending on the nature of their employment, including transcription, note taking, data entry, and office management.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Secretarynoun

   one who keeps, or is intrusted with, secrets

2. Secretarynoun

   a person employed to write orders, letters, dispatches, public or private papers, records, and the like; an official scribe, amanuensis, or writer; one who attends to correspondence, and transacts other business, for an association, a public body, or an individual

3. Secretarynoun

   an officer of state whose business is to superintend and manage the affairs of a particular department of government, and who is usually a member of the cabinet or advisory council of the chief executive; as, the secretary of state, who conducts the correspondence and attends to the relations of a government with foreign courts; the secretary of the treasury, who manages the department of finance; the secretary of war, etc

4. Secretarynoun

   a piece of furniture, with conveniences for writing and for the arrangement of papers; an escritoire

5. Secretarynoun

   the secretary bird

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Secretary

   A secretary, personal assistant, or administrative assistant is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication, or organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit of more than one. In other situations a secretary is an officer of a society or organization who deals with correspondence, admits new members, and organizes official meetings and events. A secretary has many administrative duties. Traditionally, these duties were mostly related to correspondence, such as the typing out of letters, maintaining files of paper documents, etc. The advent of word processing has significantly reduced the time that such duties require, with the result that many new tasks have come under the purview of the secretary. These might include managing budgets and doing bookkeeping, maintaining websites, and making travel arrangements. Secretaries might manage all the administrative details of running a high-level conference or arrange the catering for a typical lunch meeting. Often executives will ask their assistant to take the minutes at meetings and prepare meeting documents for review.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Secretary

   sek′rē-tā-ri, n. one employed to write for another: a public officer entrusted with the affairs of a department of government, or of a company, &c.: a piece of furniture for writing, with drawers, pigeon-holes, &c. (also Secretaire′).—adj. Secretā′rial, pertaining to a secretary or his duties.—ns. Secretā′riate, the official position of secretary; Sec′retary-bird a raptorial serpent-eating bird resembling the crane, found in South Africa and the East—from the tufts of feathers at the back of its head like pens stuck behind the ear; Sec′retaryship.

Editors ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. secretary

   A person with a defined, specific and accurate role, responsibilities, job description, employment contract and terms and agreement of employment.

   The intergovernmental secretary is an important role.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on August 14, 2020  

Matched Categories

1. • Confidant
   • Desk
   • Head

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Secretary' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #622

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Secretary' in Written Corpus Frequency: #839

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Secretary' in Nouns Frequency: #238

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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How to pronounce Secretary?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say Secretary in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of Secretary in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of Secretary in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of Secretary in a Sentence

1. Ronald Reagan:

   I just don't think it's good for us to be run out of town. (Refusing to cancel Secretary of State visit to Moscow)

2. John McCain:

   It does reveal an underlying view of these things that is really harmful and ... that is damaging, john Kerry has probably been the most inept secretary of state, certainly in my lifetime.

3. Maggie Haberman:

   I think it is important to remember that part of the issue is when this was first being reported on and discussed back a few months after the pandemic had begun, was that then President Trump and Mike Pompeo, secretary of state, suggested they’ve seen evidence that this was formed in a lab and they also suggested that is was not released on purpose. But they refused to release the evidence showing what it was and so because of that made this instantly political.

4. Lisa Trope:

   We made it over the hurdle of having the signatures needed to turn into the Secretary of State and now it's in their hands to go through the validation process.

5. David Michaels:

   Judge Cogan's decision suggests Judge Cogan has no understanding of how OSHA works or the dire situation facing workers who may be exposed to the Covid-19, oSHA is only inspecting a tiny fraction of workplaces where workers have reported uncontrolled exposure, and, even if OSHA did inspect, OSHA has no standard to measure compliance against because Labor Secretary Gene Scalia has refused to issue an Emergency Standard for Covid exposure.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=Secretary
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Secretary
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=Secretary
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretary
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Secretary
7. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=Secretary
8. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=Secretary
9. ^ Usage in printed sources
   https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Secretary