What is "secretary"

Secretary \Sec"re*ta*ry\, n.; pl. Secretaries. [F. secr['e]taire (cf. Pr. secretari, Sp. & Pg. secretario, It. secretario, segretario) LL. secretarius, originally, a confidant, one intrusted with secrets, from L. secretum a secret. See Secret, a. & n.]

1. One who keeps, or is intrusted with, secrets. [R.]

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.

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.

4. A piece of furniture, with conveniences for writing and for the arrangement of papers; an escritoire.

5. (Zo["o]l.) The secretary bird.

   Secretary bird. [So called in allusion to the tufts of feathers at the back of its head, which were fancifully thought to resemble pens stuck behind the ear.] (Zo["o]l.) 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.

   Syn: See the Note under Clerk, n., 4.

late 14c., "person entrusted with secrets," from Medieval Latin secretarius "clerk, notary, confidential officer, confidant," a title applied to various confidential officers, noun use of adjective meaning "private, secret, pertaining to private or secret matters" (compare Latin secretarium "a council-chamber, conclave, consistory"), from Latin secretum "a secret, a hidden thing" (see secret (n.)).\n

\nMeaning "person who keeps records, write letters, etc.," originally for a king, first recorded c.1400. As title of ministers presiding over executive departments of state, it is from 1590s. The word also is used in both French and English to mean "a private desk," sometimes in French form secretaire. The South African secretary bird so called (1786) in reference to its crest, which, when smooth, resembles a pen stuck over the ear. Compare Late Latin silentiarius "privy councilor, 'silentiary," from Latin silentium "a being silent."

n. 1 (context obsolete English) Someone entrusted with a secret; a confidant. 2 (senseid en person keeping records and handling clerical work)A person who keeps records, takes notes and handles general clerical work. 3 (senseid en head of a department of government)(context often capitalized English) The head of a department of government. 4 (senseid en leading or managerial position in certain organizations)A managerial or leading position in certain non-profit organizations, such as political parties, trade unions, international organizations. 5 (senseid en type of desk)(context US English) A type of desk, secretary desk; a secretaire. 6 (senseid en sagittarius serpentarius)A secretary bird, a bird of the species ''Sagittarius serpentarius''. vb. (context transitive English) To serve as a secretary of.

1. n. a person who is head of an administrative department of government

2. an assistant who handles correspondence and clerical work for a boss or an organization [syn: secretarial assistant]

3. a person to whom a secret is entrusted [syn: repository]

4. a desk used for writing [syn: writing table, escritoire, secretaire]

A secretary, or personal 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.

Secretary is a 2002 erotic romance film directed by Steven Shainberg and starring Maggie Gyllenhaal as Lee Holloway and James Spader as E. Edward Grey. The film is based on a short story from Bad Behavior by Mary Gaitskill, and explores the relationship between a sexually dominant man and his submissive secretary.

A secretary is usually an administrative support worker.

Secretary may also refer to the following:

Secretary was a 2006 Australian TV movie. It was the pilot for a series which never went to air.

Secretary is a 1976 Telugu drama film directed by K. S. Prakash Rao and produced by D. Ramanaidu under Suresh Productions. The film was based on Yaddanapudi Sulochana Rani's novel of the same name. The film stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Vanisri, Chandra Mohan and Jayasudha in the lead roles. The music was composed by K. V. Mahadevan.

Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretary's announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived from the Latin word , "to distinguish" or "to set apart", the passive participle meaning "having been set apart", with the eventual connotation of something private or confidential, as with the English word secret. A was a person, therefore, overseeing business confidentially, usually for a powerful individual (a king, pope, etc.).

The official title of the leader of most Communist and Socialist political parties is the "General Secretary of the Central Committee" or "First Secretary of the Central Committee". When a Communist party is in power, the General Secretary is usually the country's de facto leader (though sometimes this leader also holds state-level positions to monopolize power, such as a presidency or premiership in order to constitute de jure leadership of the state), such as China and Cuba.

In England, the term secretarius was used "from the beginning of the thirteenth century in the varying meanings of a confidential clerk, an ambassador, or a member of the king's council". In the fourteenth century, the title became strongly associated with the keeper of the king's signet. From the Renaissance to the late 19th century, men involved in the daily correspondence and the activities of the powerful assumed the title of secretary. With time, like many titles, the term was applied to more and varied functions, leading to compound titles to specify the authority associated with its use, like general secretary or financial secretary.

In some countries, such as the United States, the term secretary is used to indicate the holder of a cabinet-level post. This usage derives in part from the desire of the founders of the United States to differentiate the country from the United Kingdom, which denoted such offices as Ministers. There are a number of popular variations of the title used to indicate that the secretary in question has a high degree of authority, such as general secretary (or, following usage in the Norman language, secretary-general), first secretary, and executive secretary.

In a club or society, the secretary is also considered to be, in most cases, the third person in charge of the organization, after the president/chairman and vice president/vice chairman. In smaller organizations, the secretary typically takes meeting minutes, notifies members of meetings, contacts various persons in relation to the society, administers the day-to-day activities of the organization, and creates the order of business. The secretary of a non-governmental organization (NGO) or international non-governmental organization (INGO) can be vice president/vice chairman.