\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.]
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.
         That which is most of all profitable is acquaintance
         with the secretaries, and employed men of
         ambassadors.                          --Bacon.
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.
4. A piece of furniture, with conveniences for writing and
   for the arrangement of papers; an escritoire.
5. (Zo["o]l.) The secretary bird.
{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.] (Zo["o]l.)
   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}.
Syn: See the Note under {Clerk}, n., 4.