Etymologically
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secondary

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈsek.ən.dər.i/, /ˈsek.ən.dri/, US /ˈsek.ən.der.i/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English secundarie, borrowed from Latin secundārius (“of the second class or quality, inferior”),[2][3][4] from secundus “second”,[2][5] with influence from Old French secondaire.[2][4] It is related to second.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of a lower kind (1382), and belonging to the second class in importance, not chief (1386): in the OED;[6] the late 14th century in Etymonline.[2]

Semantic evolution

Second best in quality is from 1428,[6] and of an official, second in rank, from about 1450.[6] The noun, a thing of secondary importance, is from the mid-15th century, and a deputy from the 1590s.[2] Subsidiary or auxiliary is from 1751.[6] Of characteristics peculiar to one sex but not needed for reproduction it is from 1780,[2] of schools and education from 1809,[2] and of colours, under the old theory of three primary colours, from 1831.[2] In American football the secondary is the defensive backfield, by 1955.[2]

Timeline

  • 1382 – of a lower kind.[6]
  • 1386 – second in importance.[6]
  • mid-15th century – noun, a thing of lesser importance.[2]
  • 1590s – noun, a deputy.[2]
  • 1780 – secondary sex characteristics.[2]
  • 1809 – of schools.[2]
  • 1831 – of colours.[2]
  • 1955 – in American football.[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Less important than something else; minor.
  2. Coming from or caused by something else that is primary.
  3. Of education or a school, for pupils between about 11 and 18.
  4. Of a colour, made by mixing two primary colours.

Noun

  1. Something that is secondary or subordinate.
  2. One of the shorter flight feathers on the inner part of a bird's wing.
  3. (American football) The defensive backfield.

Word family

  • secondarily
  • secondariness
  • secondary root
  • secondary color
  • secondary emission
  • secondary cell
  • secondary intention

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press