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 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.]
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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. (Zool.) The secretary bird.
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   {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}.
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   Syn: See the Note under {Clerk}, n., 4.
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