01 n. One who keeps, or is intrusted with, secrets.
pl.
Secretaries ((#))
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1.
One who keeps, or is intrusted with, secrets.[R.]
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2.
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.“That which is most of all profitable is acquaintance with the secretaries, and employed men of ambassadors.” — Bacon.
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3.
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.
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4.
A piece of furniture, with conveniences for writing and for the arrangement of papers; an escritoire.
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5.
The secretary bird.(Zool.)
Phrases & compounds
Secretary bird —
A large long-legged raptorial bird (Gypogeranus serpentarius), native of South Africa, but now naturalized in the West Indies and some other tropical countries. It has a powerful hooked beak, a crest of long feathers, and a long tail. It feeds upon reptiles of various kinds, and is much prized on account of its habit of killing and devouring snakes of all kinds. Called also serpent eater.