Sē'e-re-ta-ry, n.

(44), n. [Fr. secrétaire, Pr. secretari, Sp. & Pg. secretario, It. secretario, segretario, L. Lat. secretarius, from Lat. secretum, a secret; originally a confidant, one intrusted with secrets.]

1. One who keeps, or is intrusted with, secrets. [Very rare.] “A faithful secretary to her sex’s foibles.” W. Scott.
2. A person employed to write orders, letters, dispatches, public or private papers, records, and the like; an official scribe, amanuensis, or writer.
3. An officer whose business is to superintend and manage the affairs of a particular department of government; as, the secretary of state, who conducts the correspondence of a state with foreign courts; the secretary of the treasury, who manages the department of finance; the secretary of war, of the navy, &c.
4. A piece of furniture, with conveniences for writing, and for the arrangement of papers; an escritoire.
5. (Ornith.) The secretary-bird.

Syn.—See CLERK.