Secret - Secularization
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2. A thing not discovered; what is unknown or unexplained; a mystery.
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All secrets of the deep, all nature's works.
Milton.
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3. pl. The parts which modesty and propriety require to be concealed; the genital organs.
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Coloq. In secret , in a private place; in privacy or secrecy; in a state or place not seen; privately.
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Bread eaten in secret is pleasant.
Prov. ix. 17.
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Secret (?), v. t. To keep secret. [Obs.] Bacon.
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Secretage (?), n. [F.] A process in which mercury, or some of its salts, is employed to impart the property of felting to certain kinds of furs. Ure.
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Secretarial (?), a. Of or pertaining to a secretary; befitting a secretary. [R.]
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Secretarial, diplomatic, or other official training.
Carlyle.
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{ Secretariat (?), Secretariate (?), } n. [F. secrétariat.] The office of a secretary; the place where a secretary transacts business, keeps records, etc.
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Secretary (?), n.; pl. Secretaries (#). [F. secrétaire (cf. Pr. secretari, Sp. & Pg. secretario, It. secretario, segretario) LL. secretarius, originally, a confidant, one intrusted with secrets, from L. secretum a secret. See , a. & n.] 1. One who keeps, or is intrusted with, secrets. [R.]
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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.
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That which is most of all profitable is acquaintance with the secretaries, and employed men of ambassadors.
Bacon.
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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.
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4. A piece of furniture, with conveniences for writing and for the arrangement of papers; an escritoire.
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5. (Zoöl.) The secretary bird.
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Coloq. 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.] (Zoöl.) 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.
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Syn. -- See the Note under , n., 4.
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Secretaryship, n. The office, or the term of office, of a secretary.
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Secrete (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Secreted; p. pr. & vb. n. Secreting.] [L. secretus separated, secret, hidden, p. p. of secernere. See , and cf. , .] 1. To deposit in a place of hiding; to hide; to conceal; as, to secrete stolen goods; to secrete one's self.
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2. (Physiol.) To separate from the blood and elaborate by the process of secretion; to elaborate and emit as a secretion. See .
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Why one set of cells should secrete bile, another urea, and so on, we do not know.
Carpenter.
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Syn. -- To conceal; hide. See .
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Secretion (?), n. [L. secretio: cf. F. sécrétion.] 1. The act of secreting or concealing; as, the secretion of dutiable goods.
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2. (Physiol.) The act of secreting; the process by which material is separated from the blood through the agency of the cells of the various glands and elaborated by the cells into new substances so as to form the various secretions, as the saliva, bile, and other digestive fluids. The process varies in the different glands, and hence are formed the various secretions.
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3. (Physiol.) Any substance or fluid secreted, or elaborated and emitted, as the gastric juice.
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Secretist (?), n. A dealer in secrets. [Obs.]
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Secretitious (?), a. Parted by animal secretion; as, secretitious humors. Floyer.
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Secretive (?), a. Tending to secrete, or to keep secret or private; as, a secretive disposition.
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Secretiveness, n. 1. The quality of being secretive; disposition or tendency to conceal.
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2. (Phren.) The faculty or propensity which impels to reserve, secrecy, or concealment.
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Secretly (?), adv. In a secret manner.
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Secretness, n. 1. The state or quality of being secret, hid, or concealed.
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2. Secretiveness; concealment. Donne.
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Secreto-motory (?), a. (Physiol.) Causing secretion; -- said of nerves which go to glands and influence secretion.
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Secretory (?), a. [Cf. F. sécrétoire. See .] (Physiol.) Secreting; performing, or connected with, the office of secretion; secernent; as, secretory vessels, nerves. -- n. A secretory vessel; a secernent.
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Secret service. The detective service of a government. In the United States, in time of peace the bureau of secret service is under the treasury department, and in time of war it aids the war department in securing information concerning the movements of the enemy.
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Sect (sĕkt), n. [L. secare, sectum, to cut.] A cutting; a scion. [Obs.] Shak.
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Sect (sĕkt), n. [F. secte, L. secta, fr. sequi to follow; often confused with L. secare, sectum, to cut. See to follow, and cf. , , n.] Those following a particular leader or authority, or attached to a certain opinion; a company or set having a common belief or allegiance distinct from others; in religion, the believers in a particular creed, or upholders of a particular practice; especially, in modern times, a party dissenting from an established church; a denomination; in philosophy, the disciples of a particular master; a school; in society and the state, an order, rank, class, or party.
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He beareth the sign of poverty,
And in that sect our Savior saved all mankind.
Piers Plowman.
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As of the sect of which that he was born,
He kept his lay, to which that he was sworn.
Chaucer.
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The cursed sect of that detestable and false prophet Mohammed.
Fabyan.
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As concerning this sect [Christians], we know that everywhere it is spoken against.
Acts xxviii. 22.
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Sectant (?), n. [L. secare, sectum, to cut.] One of the portions of space bounded by the three coordinate planes. Specif. (Crystallog.), one of the parts of a crystal into which it is divided by the axial planes.
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Sectarian (?), a. Pertaining 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.
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Sectarian, n. One 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 established church, or which holds tenets different from those of the prevailing denomination in a state.
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Syn. -- See .
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Sectarianism (?), n. The quality or character of a sectarian; devotion to the interests of a party; excess of partisan or denominational zeal; adherence to a separate church organization.
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Sectarianize (?), v. t. To imbue with sectarian feelings; to subject to the control of a sect.
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Sectarism, n. Sectarianism. [Obs.]
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Sectarist (?), n. A sectary. [R.] T. Warton.
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Sectary (?), n.;pl. Sectaries (#). [F. sectaire. See .] A sectarian; a member or adherent of a sect; a follower or disciple of some particular teacher in philosophy or religion; one who separates from an established church; a dissenter.
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I never knew that time in England when men of truest religion were not counted sectaries.
Milton.
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Sectator (?), n. [L., fr. sectari, v. intens. fr. sequi to follow. See to follow.] A follower; a disciple; an adherent to a sect. [Obs.] Sir W. Raleigh.
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Sectile (?), a. [L. sectilis, fr. secare, sectum, to cut: cf. F. sectile. See .] Capable of being cut; specifically (Min.), capable of being severed by the knife with a smooth cut; -- said of minerals.
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Sectility (?), n. The state or quality of being sectile.
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Section (?), n. [L. sectio, fr. secare, sectum, to cut; akin to E. saw a cutting instrument: cf. F. section. See , and cf. , , , , .] 1. The act of cutting, or separation by cutting; as, the section of bodies.
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2. A part separated from something; a division; a portion; a slice. Specifically: --
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(a) A distinct part or portion of a book or writing; a subdivision of a chapter; the division of a law or other writing; a paragraph; an article; hence, the character §, often used to denote such a division.
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It is hardly possible to give a distinct view of his several arguments in distinct sections.
Locke.
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(b) A distinct part of a country or people, community, class, or the like; a part of a territory separated by geographical lines, or of a people considered as distinct.
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The extreme section of one class consists of bigoted dotards, the extreme section of the other consists of shallow and reckless empirics.
Macaulay.
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(c) One of the portions, of one square mile each, into which the public lands of the United States are divided; one thirty-sixth part of a township. These sections are subdivided into quarter sections for sale under the homestead and preëmption laws.
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3. (Geom.) The figure made up of all the points common to a superficies and a solid which meet, or to two superficies which meet, or to two lines which meet. In the first case the section is a superficies, in the second a line, and in the third a point.
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4. (Nat. Hist.) A division of a genus; a group of species separated by some distinction from others of the same genus; -- often indicated by the sign §.
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5. (Mus.) A part of a musical period, composed of one or more phrases. See .
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6. The description or representation of anything as it would appear if cut through by any intersecting plane; depiction of what is beyond a plane passing through, or supposed to pass through, an object, as a building, a machine, a succession of strata; profile.
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☞ In mechanical drawing, as in these Illustrations of a cannon, a longitudinal section (a) usually represents the object as cut through its center lengthwise and vertically; a cross or transverse section (b), as cut crosswise and vertically; and a horizontal section (c), as cut through its center horizontally. Oblique sections are made at various angles. In architecture, a vertical section is a drawing showing the interior, the thickness of the walls, etc., as if made on a vertical plane passed through a building.
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Coloq. Angular sections (Math.), a branch of analysis which treats of the relations of sines, tangents, etc., of arcs to the sines, tangents, etc., of their multiples or of their parts. [R.] -- Coloq. Conic sections . (Geom.) See under . -- Coloq. Section liner (Drawing), an instrument to aid in drawing a series of equidistant parallel lines, -- used in representing sections. -- Coloq. Thin section , a section or slice, as of mineral, animal, or vegetable substance, thin enough to be transparent, and used for study under the microscope.
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Syn. -- Part; portion; division. -- , . The English more commonly apply the word section to a part or portion of a body of men; as, a section of the clergy, a small section of the Whigs, etc. In the United States this use is less common, but another use, unknown or but little known in England, is very frequent, as in the phrases “the eastern section of our country,” etc., the same sense being also given to the adjective sectional; as, sectional feelings, interests, etc.
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Sectional (?), a. 1. Of or pertaining to a section or distinct part of larger body or territory; local.
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All sectional interests, or party feelings, it is hoped, will hereafter yield to schemes of ambition.
Story.
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2. Consisting of sections, or capable of being divided into sections; as, a sectional steam boiler.
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Sectionalism (?), n. A disproportionate regard for the interests peculiar to a section of the country; local patriotism, as distinguished from national. [U. S.]
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Sectionality (?), n. The state or quality of being sectional; sectionalism.
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Sectionalize (?), v. t. To divide according to geographical sections or local interests. [U. S.]
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The principal results of the struggle were to sectionalize parties.
Nicolay & Hay (Life of Lincoln).
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Sectionally, adv. In a sectional manner.
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Sectionize (?), v. t. To form into sections. [R.]
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Sectism (?), n. Devotion to a sect. [R.]
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Sectist, n. One devoted to a sect; a sectary. [R.]
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Sectiuncle (?), n. A little or petty sect. [R.] “Some new sect or sectiuncle.” J. Martineau.
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Sector (?), n. [L., properly, a cutter, fr. secare, sectum, to cut: cf. F. secteur. See .] 1. (Geom.) A part of a circle comprehended between two radii and the included arc.
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2. A mathematical instrument, consisting of two rulers connected at one end by a joint, each arm marked with several scales, as of equal parts, chords, sines, tangents, etc., one scale of each kind on each arm, and all on lines radiating from the common center of motion. The sector is used for plotting, etc., to any scale.
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3. An astronomical instrument, the limb of which embraces a small portion only of a circle, used for measuring differences of declination too great for the compass of a micrometer. When it is used for measuring zenith distances of stars, it is called a zenith sector.
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Coloq. Dip sector , an instrument used for measuring the dip of the horizon. -- Coloq. Sector of a sphere , or Coloq. Spherical sector , the solid generated by the revolution of the sector of a circle about one of its radii, or, more rarely, about any straight line drawn in the plane of the sector through its vertex.
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Sectoral (?), a. Of or pertaining to a sector; as, a sectoral circle.
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Sectorial (?), a. (Anat.) Adapted for cutting. -- n. A sectorial, or carnassial, tooth.
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Secular (?), a. [OE. secular, seculer. L. saecularis, fr. saeculum a race, generation, age, the times, the world; perhaps akin to E. soul: cf. F. séculier.] 1. Coming or observed once in an age or a century.
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The secular year was kept but once a century.
Addison.
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2. Pertaining to an age, or the progress of ages, or to a long period of time; accomplished in a long progress of time; as, secular inequality; the secular refrigeration of the globe.
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3. Of or pertaining to this present world, or to things not spiritual or holy; relating to temporal as distinguished from eternal interests; not immediately or primarily respecting the soul, but the body; worldly.
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New foes arise,
Threatening to bind our souls with secular chains.
Milton.
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4. (Eccl.) Not regular; not bound by monastic vows or rules; not confined to a monastery, or subject to the rules of a religious community; as, a secular priest.
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He tried to enforce a stricter discipline and greater regard for morals, both in the religious orders and the secular clergy.
Prescott.
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5. Belonging to the laity; lay; not clerical.
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I speak of folk in secular estate.
Chaucer.
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Coloq. Secular equation (Astron.), the algebraic or numerical expression of the magnitude of the inequalities in a planet's motion that remain after the inequalities of a short period have been allowed for. -- Coloq. Secular games (Rom. Antiq.), games celebrated, at long but irregular intervals, for three days and nights, with sacrifices, theatrical shows, combats, sports, and the like. -- Coloq. Secular music , any music or songs not adapted to sacred uses. -- Coloq. Secular hymn or Coloq. Secular poem , a hymn or poem composed for the secular games, or sung or rehearsed at those games.
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Secular, n. 1. (Eccl.) A secular ecclesiastic, or one not bound by monastic rules. Burke.
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2. (Eccl.) A church official whose functions are confined to the vocal department of the choir. Busby.
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3. A layman, as distinguished from a clergyman.
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Secularism (?), n. 1. The state or quality of being secular; a secular spirit; secularity.
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2. The tenets or principles of the secularists.
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Secularist, n. One who theoretically rejects every form of religious faith, and every kind of religious worship, and accepts only the facts and influences which are derived from the present life; also, one who believes that education and other matters of civil policy should be managed without the introduction of a religious element.
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Secularity (?), n. [Cf.F. sécularité, LL. saecularitas.] Supreme attention to the things of the present life; worldliness.
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A secularity of character which makes Christianity and its principal doctrines distasteful or unintelligible.
I. Taylor.
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Secularization (?), n. [Cf. F. sécularisation.] The act of rendering secular, or the state of being rendered secular; conversion from regular or monastic to secular; conversion from religious to lay or secular possession and uses; as, the secularization of church property.
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