Etymologically
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secret

Etymology and origin of the French word secret

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1138 (segrei)
Borrowed from
Latin secretus
Ultimate origin
Latin (cernō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /sə.kʁɛ/[1]
  • IPA: /sə.ɡʁɛ/[1]

Forms

secret (feminine secrète, masculine plural secrets, feminine plural secrètes)[1] Old French noun segrei (about 1138), secroi (about 1150), secré (about 1155); adjective segrei, secret (1180), secré and segret; the form secret won out after the Latin.[2][3]

Etymology

The adjective is borrowed from Latin sēcrētus (“separate; solitary; hidden”), the past participle of sēcernō (“to set apart”), and the noun is from sēcrētum (“secluded place; secret thought; mysteries”), the same word used as a neuter noun.[3][2][4][5][6] The Old French forms “secré”, “secrei”, “segré” and “segrei” were attempts to adapt the Latin word to French.[3] “Sēcernō” is formed from sē- (“apart”) and cernō (“to sift; distinguish; decide”), which Rey traces to an Indo-European root “*krei-” “to separate”, found in Greek, Italic, Celtic and Germanic.[2][7] Wiktionary treats the Old French word as an early borrowing that was then inherited.[1]

Compare Old Occitan secret and Spanish secreto.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The noun is first found about 1138, for knowledge reserved to a few.[2] The adjective appears about 1150 in the Roman de Thèbes, meaning “keeping silent, reserved”: La cort s'estut morne et secroie (“the court stood gloomy and silent”).[3]

Semantic evolution

The noun soon meant a private exchange giving rise to counsel (about 1155), especially in matters of political power, the link with secrétaire.[2] En secret is found from about 1150, and sous le sceau du secret (1681) goes back to the royal seal for secret letters (1316).[2] Euphemistically les secrets were the private parts (about 1360).[2] A secret was also a process known to a few (1270), then a clever means (1643) and the methods of an art (1685), as in secret de fabrication.[2]

The adjective meant “secluded” of places (about 1165) and “known to few, hidden” by 1174–1176.[3] Amyot has maladie secrète for venereal disease (1559), Furetière sciences secrètes (1690), and the pharmacist's remède secret is found in 1833.[3][9] Top secret (1953) is borrowed from American English, whose secret came from French.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1138 – The noun segrei.[2]
  • c. 1150 – The adjective, “reserved”, in the Roman de Thèbes, en secroi.[3][2]
  • c. 1165 – “Secluded”, of places, in Benoît de Sainte-Maure.[3]
  • 1316 – Scel du secret, the seal for secret letters.[2]
  • 1380 – The form secret.[3]
  • 1559 – Maladie secrète in Amyot.[3]
  • 1681 – Sous le sceau du secret.[2]
  • 1953 – Top secret.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. secret, kept hidden, known to few: documents secrets, société secrète.[10][11]
  2. (of a place or passage) Hidden: une porte secrète.[3][5]
  3. Inner, private: vie secrète.[10]
  4. (of a person) discreet, reserved.[3][7]

Noun

  1. A secret: confier un secret, garder un secret.[10][12]
  2. secrecy: promettre le secret, en secret.[12][1]
  3. A mystery: les secrets de la nature.[12]
  4. A knack, a means of success: le secret du bonheur.[12]
  5. A hidden mechanism: un tiroir à secret.[12]
  6. Au secret: in solitary confinement: mettre au secret.[1]
  7. Secret professionnel, secret d'État, secret de Polichinelle, an open secret.[1][10]

Word family

  • secrètement
  • secrétaire
  • discerner
  • décerner
  • Latin sēcrētus
  • English secret

Usage notes

An older pronunciation [səgrɛ], segret, was still kept by some speakers in Littré's day.[8][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  4. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 11, 375b
  7. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  10. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  11. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  12. ^ a b c d e Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Secret.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/secret. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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