Merriam-Webster's Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster [1227]
2 : the secretarial staff in an office
3 : the administrative department of a governmental organization sec·re·tary noun, plural -tar·ies 1 : a person employed to handle records, correspondence, and routine work for another person 2 : an officer of a corporation or business who is in charge of correspondence and records 3 : an official at the head of a department of government 4 : a writing desk — sec·re·tari·al adjective — sec·re·tary·ship noun 1secrete verb se·cret·ed; se·cret·ing : to form and give off (a secretion) 2secrete verb se·cret·ed; se·cret·ing : to deposit or conceal in a hiding place : HIDE Synonyms bury, cache, conceal, ensconce, hide—more at HIDE se·cre·tion noun 1 : the process of secreting something 2 : a product of glandular activity; especially : one (as a hormone) useful in the organism 3 : the act of hiding something — se·cre·to·ry adjective Synonyms concealment—more at CONCEALMENT se·cre·tive adjective : tending to keep secrets or to act secretly — se·cre·tive·ly adverb — se·cre·tive·ness noun Synonyms close, closemouthed, dark, reticent, uncommunicative; also quiet, reserved, silent, taciturn; discreet, prudent; clandestine, covert, furtive, hugger-mugger, secret, sneak, sneaky, stealthy, surreptitious, undercover, underhand, underhanded Antonyms communicative, open 1sect noun 1 : a dissenting religious body 2 : a religious denomination 3 : a group adhering to a distinctive doctrine or to a leader 4 : an opinionated faction (as of a party) Synonyms bloc, body, coalition, combination, combine, faction, party, set, side, wing—more at FACTION 2sect abbreviation section; sectional 1sectarian adjective 1 : of or relating to a sect or sectarian 2 : limited in character or scope — sec·tar·i·an·ism noun Synonyms insular, little, narrow, parochial, petty, provincial, small—more at NARROW 2sectarian noun 1 : an adherent of a sect 2 : a narrow or bigoted person sec·ta·ry noun, plural -ries : a member of a sect 1section noun 1 : a part cut off or separated 2 : a distinct part (as of a territorial or political area, community, or group of people) 3 : the appearance that a thing has or would have if cut straight through Synonyms [1] member, part, partition, portion, segment—more at PART [2] district, neighborhood, quarter—more at DISTRICT 2section verb 1 : to separate or become separated into sections 2 : to represent in sections sec·tion·al adjective 1 : of, relating to, or characteristic of a section 2 : local or regional rather than general in character 3 : divided into sections — sec·tion·al·ism noun sec·tor noun 1 : a part of a circle between two radii 2 : an area assigned to a military leader to defend 3 : a subdivision of society sec·u·lar adjective 1 : not sacred or ecclesiastical