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An American Dictionary of the English Language

by Noah Webster

Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)

Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865

Entries
95,912
Pages
1,538
Illustrations
2,133

Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.

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  1. Sĕc'ond-a-ri-ness, n.p. 1192State of being secondary.
  2. Sĕc'ond-a-ry, a.p. 1192Succeeding next in order to the first; of second place, origin, rank, and the like; not primary; subordinate; not of the first order or rate. Where there is moral right on the one hand, no secondary…
  3. Sĕc'ond-a-ry, n.p. 1192One who occupies a subordinate, inferior, or auxiliary place; a delegate or deputy; one who acts in subordination to another; as, the secondaries of the Court of King's Bench and of Common Pleas. 2.…
  4. Sēc'ond-er, n.p. 1192One who seconds or supports what another attempts, affirms, moves, or proposes; as, the seconder of an enterprise or of a motion.
  5. Sē'cond-hānd, n.p. 1192The hand marking the seconds in a clock or watch.
  6. Sĕc'ond-hānd, n.p. 1192Possession obtained by transfer from a previous owner. Johnson. At second hand, in or from the second place in the order of possession or use; by transmission; not primarily; not originally; after…
  7. Sĕc'ond-hănd, a.p. 1192Not original or primary; received from another. They have but a second-hand or implicit knowledge. Locke. 2. Not new; already or previously possessed or used by another; as, a second-hand book.
  8. Sē'ond-ly, adv.p. 1192In the second place.
  9. Se-cōn'do, n.p. 1192(Mus.) The second part in a concerted piece.
  10. Sĕc'ond-rāte, n.p. 1192The second order in size, dignity, or value, and the like. They call it thunder of the second-rate. Addison.
  11. Sĕc'ond-rāte, a.p. 1192Of the second size, rank, quality, or value; as, a second-rate ship; a second-rate cloth; a second-rate champion.
  12. Sĕc'ond-sight, n.p. 1192The power of seeing things future or distant; the capacity of a seer; prophetic vision. Nor less availed his optic sleight, And Scottish gift of second-sight. Trumbull.
  13. Sĕc'ond-sīght'ed, a.p. 1192Having the power of second-sight. [Rare.] Addison.
  14. Sē'cre-cy, n.p. 1192State of being secret; separation; retirement; privacy; concealment. “The pensive secrecy of desert cell.” Milton. The Lady Anne. Whom the king hath in secrecy long married. Shak. 2. The quality of…
  15. Sē'cret, a.p. 1192Separate or set apart; hence, hid; concealed from general notice or knowledge; withdrawn from general intercourse; secluded; unseen. I have a secret errand to thee, O king. Judg. iii. 19. There…
  16. Sē'cret, n.p. 1192Something studiously concealed; a thing kept from general knowledge; what is not revealed, or not to be revealed. To tell our own secrets is often folly; to communicate those of others is treachery.…
  17. Sē'cret, v. t.p. 1192To keep private or secret. [Obs.]
  18. Sēc're-tā'ri-al, a.p. 1192Of, or pertaining to, a secretary. [Rare.] “Some secretarial, diplomatic, or official training.” Carlyle.
  19. Sē'cre-tā'ri-at or Sē'cre-tā'ri-ate, n.p. 1192The office of a secretary; the place where a secretary transacts business, keeps records, and the like.
  20. Sē'e-re-ta-ry, n.p. 1192One 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…
  21. Sē'cre-ta-ry-bird, n.p. 1192of feathers at the back of its head, which were fancifully thought to resemble pens stuck behind the ear.] (Ornith.) A bird of South Africa (Gypogeranus serpentarius), with an aquiline head and beak…
  22. Sĕc're-ta-ry-ship, n.p. 1192The office of a secretary.
  23. Se-crēte', v. t.p. 1192To 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. 2. (Physiol.) To separate or produce by the…
  24. Sē'cret-false, a.p. 1192Undetected in falsehood or unfaithfulness; secretly false. [Obs. and rare.] Shak.
  25. Se-crē'tion, n.p. 1192The act of secreting or secreting; especially, production from the general nourishing substance, of particular substances in the vital economy. ☞ “The general term secretion, . . . considered in its…
  26. Sē'cret-ist, n.p. 1192A dealer in secrets. [Obs. and rare.] Boyle.
  27. Sē'cre-ti'tiŏūs, a.p. 1192Parted by animal secretion. Floyer.
  28. Se-crēt'ive, a.p. 1192Tending to secrete, or to keep secret or private; as, a secretive disposition.
  29. Se-crēt'ive-ness, n.p. 1192The quality of being secretive; disposition or tendency to conceal.
  30. Sē'cret-ly, adv.p. 1192In a secret manner; privately; privily; without the knowledge of others.
  31. Sē'cret-ness, n.p. 1192The state or quality of being secret, hid, or concealed. 2. The quality of keeping a secret; secretiveness. [Rare.]
  32. Sē'cre-to-ry or Se-crēt'o-ry, a.p. 1192Performing the office of secretion; as, secretory vessels.
  33. Sĕct, n.p. 1192A part cut off; a cutting; a cion. [Rare.] Shak. 2. Hence, a body of persons who have separated from others in virtue of some special doctrine, or set of doctrines, which they hold in common; a…
  34. Sec-tā'ri-an, a.p. 1192Pertaining to a sect, or to sects; peculiar to a sect; bigotedly attached to the tenets and interests of a denomination; as, sectarian principles or prejudices.
  35. Sec-tā'ri-an, n.p. 1192One of a sect; a member or adherent of a special school, denomination, or religious or philosophical party; one of a party in religion which has separated itself from the established church, or which…
  36. Sec-tā'ri-an-ism, n.p. 1192The quality or character of a sectarian; adherence to a separate religious denomination; devotion to the interests of a party; excess of partisan or denominational zeal.
  37. Sec-tā'ri-an-ize, v. t.p. 1192To imbue with sectarian feelings.
  38. Sĕc'ta-rism, n.p. 1192Sectarianism. [Obs.] Milton.
  39. Sēc'ta-rist, n.p. 1192A sectary. [Rare.] Warton.
  40. Sēe'ta-ry, n.p. 1192A sectarian; a member or adherent of a sect; a follower or disciple of some particular teacher in philosophy or religion; hence, one who separates from an established church; a dissenter. I never…
  41. Sec-tā'tor, n.p. 1193A follower; a disciple; an adherent to a sect. [Obs.] Raleigh.
  42. Sĕc'tile, a.p. 1193Capable of being cut. 2. (Min.) Capable of being cut smoothly;—said of minerals which do not crumble or break when the knife is applied to them, but are severed with a smooth cut.
  43. Sĕc'tion, n.p. 1193The act of cutting, or of separation by cutting; as, the section of bodies. 2. A part separated from the rest; a division; a portion; as, specifically, (a.) A distinct part or portion of a book or…
  44. Sĕc'tion-al, a.p. 1193Pertaining to a section or distinct part of a larger body or territory; partial. All sectional interests and party feelings, it is hoped, will hereafter yield to schemes of ambition. J. Story.
  45. Sĕc'tion-al-īsm, n.p. 1193A feeling of peculiar interest in some one section of a country, &c. [U. S.]
  46. Sĕc'tion-äl'i-ty, n.p. 1193The state or quality of being sectional; sectionalism.
  47. Sĕc'tion-al-ly, adv.p. 1193In a sectional manner.
  48. Sĕc'tion-ize, v. t.p. 1193To form into sections. [Rare.]
  49. Sĕct'ism, n.p. 1193Devotion to a sect; the spirit of sectarianism. [Rare.]
  50. Sĕct'ist, n.p. 1193One who is devoted to the interests of a sect; a sectary. [Rare.]
  51. Sĕct'i-ūn'cle, n.p. 1193A little or petty sect. [Rare.] “Some new sect or sectiuncle.” J. Martineau.
  52. Sē'ctor, n.p. 1193(Geom.) A part of a circle comprehended between two radii and the included arc; or a mixed triangle, formed by two radii and the arc of a circle. 2. A mathematical instrument, consisting of two…
  53. Sĕc'tor-al, a.p. 1193Of, or pertaining to, a sector; as, a sectoral circle.
  54. Sec-tō'ri-al, a.p. 1193Adapted for cutting;—said of a form of cutting teeth, called also scissors teeth, because the corresponding pair in the upper and lower jaw play against each other like scissors blades. R. Owen.
  55. Sĕc'ū-lar, a.p. 1193Coming or observed once in an age or century. The secular year was kept but once a century. Addison. 2. Pertaining to an age, or the progress of ages, or to a long period of time; accomplished in a…
  56. Sē'û-lar, n.p. 1193A secular ecclesiastic, or one not bound by monastic rules. Burke. 2. (Eccl.) A church officer or official, whose functions are confined to the vocal department of the choir. Busby.
  57. Sĕc'û-lar-ĭsm, n.p. 1193The state or quality of being secular; a secular spirit; secularity.
  58. Sĕc'ū-lār'ĭ-ty, n.p. 1193Supreme attention to the things of the present life; worldliness. “A secularity of character which makes Christianity and its principal doctrines distasteful or unintelligible.” Taylor.
  59. Séc'û-lar-i-zâ'tion, n.p. 1193The act of rendering secular, or the state of being rendered secular; conversion from regular to secular; conversion from religious to lay possession and uses; as, the secularization of church…
  60. Sĕc'ū-lar-ize, v. t.p. 1193To convert from regular or monastic into secular; as, to secularize a priest or monk. 2. To convert from spiritual to secular or common use; as, to secularize a church, or church property. At the…