Se-crēte', v. t.
v. t. [imp. & p. p. SECRETED; p. pr. & vb. n. SECRETING.] [Lat. secernere, to separate, p. p. secretus, separated, secret, hidden. See SECRET and SECERN.]
Sense 1. To separate; to deposit in a place of hiding; to remove from observation; to hide; to conceal; as, to secrete stolen goods; to secrete one's self.
Sense 2. (Physiol.) To separate or produce by the processes of the vital economy, from the circulating fluids, as the blood, sap, &c.; to secern.
Why one set of cells should secrete bile, another urea, and so on, we do not know. —Carpenter.
Synonyms—To conceal; hide. See CONCEAL.