Secretary,

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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.]


        [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              That which is most of all profitable is acquaintance
              with the secretaries, and employed men of
              ambassadors.                          --Bacon.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. A piece of furniture, with conveniences for writing and
        for the arrangement of papers; an escritoire.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     5. (Zool.) The secretary bird.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {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.] (Zool.) 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}.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Syn: See the Note under {Clerk}, n., 4.
          [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  secretary
       n 1: 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}]

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  SECRETARY. An officer who, by order of his superior, writes letters and 
  other instruments. He is so called because he is possessed of the secrets of 
  his employer. This term wag used in France in 1343, and in England the term 
  secretary was first applied to the clerks of the king, who being always near 
  his person were called clerks of the secret, and in the reign of Henry VIII. 
  the term secretary of state came into it. 
  
  

From U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]:

  Secretary, MD (town, FIPS 70900)
    Location: 38.60739 N, 75.94746 W
    Population (1990): 528 (231 housing units)
    Area: 0.7 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)

From U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000) [gaz-place]:

  Secretary, MD -- U.S. town in Maryland
     Population (2000):    503
     Housing Units (2000): 218
     Land area (2000):     0.258731 sq. miles (0.670109 sq. km)
     Water area (2000):    0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
     Total area (2000):    0.258731 sq. miles (0.670109 sq. km)
     FIPS code:            70900
     Located within:       Maryland (MD), FIPS 24
     Location:             38.609886 N, 75.949006 W
     ZIP Codes (1990):    
     Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
     Headwords:
      Secretary, MD
      Secretary