| / English Dictionary |
SECRETARY
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A desk used for writing
Synonyms:
escritoire; secretaire; secretary; writing table
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("secretary" is a kind of...):
desk (a piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A person to whom a secret is entrusted
Synonyms:
repository; secretary
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("secretary" is a kind of...):
confidant; intimate (someone to whom private matters are confided)
Sense 3
Meaning:
An assistant who handles correspondence and clerical work for a boss or an organization
Synonyms:
secretarial assistant; secretary
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Hypernyms ("secretary" is a kind of...):
assistant; help; helper; supporter (a person who contributes to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "secretary"):
executive secretary (a secretary having administrative duties and responsibilities)
receptionist (a secretary whose main duty is to answer the telephone and receive visitors)
social secretary (a personal secretary who handles your social correspondence and appointments)
amanuensis; shorthand typist; stenographer (someone skilled in the transcription of speech (especially dictation))
Derivation:
secretarial (of or relating to a secretary or to a secretary's work)
secretaryship (the position of secretary)
Sense 4
Meaning:
A person who is head of an administrative department of government
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Hypernyms ("secretary" is a kind of...):
chief; head; top dog (a person who is in charge)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "secretary"):
undersecretary (a secretary immediately subordinate to the head of a department of government)
Secretary of Veterans Affairs (the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Veterans Affairs)
Secretary of Transportation; Transportation Secretary (the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Transportation)
Secretary of the Treasury; Treasury Secretary (the person who holds the secretaryship of the Treasury Department)
Interior Secretary; Secretary of the Interior (the person who holds the secretaryship of the Interior Department)
Secretary of State (the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of State)
Labor Secretary; Secretary of Labor (the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Labor)
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Housing and Urban Development)
Secretary of Health and Human Services (the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Health and Human Services)
Energy Secretary; Secretary of Energy (the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Energy)
Education Secretary; Secretary of Education (the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Education)
Defense Secretary; Secretary of Defense (the person who holds the secretaryship of the Defense Department)
Commerce Secretary; Secretary of Commerce (the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Commerce)
Agriculture Secretary; Secretary of Agriculture (the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Agriculture)
Attorney General; United States Attorney General; US Attorney General (the person who holds the position of secretary of the Justice Department)
Derivation:
secretaryship (the position of secretary)
Context examples:
“The Duke’s secretary!” cried Holmes.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
His dark secretary is like his shadow.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
These articles were brought to me by Skyresh Bolgolam in person attended by two under-secretaries, and several persons of distinction.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
Baron Rothschild's private secretary, a large-nosed Jew in tight boots, affably beamed upon the world, as if his master's name crowned him with a golden halo.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
My friend waited until the door had closed behind the retreating secretary.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The light shone vividly into the opened safe, and the secretary of the embassy gazed with an absorbed interest at the rows of stuffed pigeon-holes with which it was furnished.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Thus, by the great friendship of the secretary, the whole affair was compromised.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
I have had some confidential talks with Mr. James Wilder, his Grace’s secretary.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
“From Portsmouth at midday,” said the secretary, examining the superscription.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
My friend Reldresal, principal secretary for private affairs, is, in my opinion, if I am not partial, the second after the treasurer; the rest of the great officers are much upon a par.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
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