segretario Italian · revision 39204

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1375, Boccaccio|origins=la sēcernō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /se.ɡreˈta.rjo/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''segretario''' ''m'' (plural segretari, feminine segretaria, relational adjective segretariale or segretariesco)^(Wiktionary)

+ Older forms are ''secretario'' (Bembo), ''segretaro'' (Boccaccio), ''sagretario'', ''segretano'' and ''segretale'' (Giovanni Villani).^(Prati 1951|906)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(GDLI) The feminine is ''segretaria''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la-med|sēcrētārius|t=confidential officer]], a learned word.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The Medieval Latin noun, recorded in Salimbene (1281–1288), is a derivative of [[la|sēcrētum|t=a secret]], properly the one to whom secrets are entrusted.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) GRADIT and the GDLI trace it further to Late Latin, where in the 5th century “secretarius” was an official in the emperor's confidence.^(GRADIT 2003)^(GDLI) Latin “sēcrētus” is the past participle of [[m|la|sēcernō|t=to separate, set apart]].^(DELI 1999)^(OLD 2012) In Italian the word could be analysed as [[af|it|segreto|-ario]].^(Wiktionary)^(Devoto 1968)

+

+ The learned word is shared with [[fr|secrétaire]].^(Körting 1907) Prati thought that “segretario di stato”, the pope's minister, may have come from [[es|secretario de estado]].^(Prati 1951|906)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is Boccaccio, before 1375, in the form ''secretario'', for the trusted confidant of a prince: commenting on Pier della Vigna in the ''Inferno'', he says that as the emperor's secretary he could almost be called the emperor himself.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In its oldest sense the secretary was an official, sometimes an adviser, of a sovereign or a state, entrusted with letters and confidential business;^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) Machiavelli, who served in the chancery of the Florentine Signoria, is still called ''il segretario fiorentino''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) Old Italian also used the word as an adjective, “intimate, familiar”, of close companions.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) The ''segretariato'', the office of secretary, is recorded before 1498, and ''segreteria'' before 1535.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ Francesco Redi, in 1666, uses the word for anyone attached to a person or an office with confidential executive duties, and in his ''Bacco in Toscana'' the secretary records the acts of a meeting.^(DELI 1999)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) The modern senses grew from these: the administrative officer of a town or school, the minutes secretary of a meeting, and the head of a party, union or international body, as in ''segretario generale''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) ''Segretario galante'' was the title of books of model love letters.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020) In zoology the word names the secretary bird.^(Wiktionary)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1281–1288 – Medieval Latin ''secretarius'' is recorded in Salimbene.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1375 – Boccaccio uses ''secretario''.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * Before 1498 – ''Segretariato'' is recorded in Vespasiano da Bisticci.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1535 – ''Segreteria'' appears in Francesco Berni.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 17th century – ''Sottosegretario'' “under-secretary” is formed.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1666 – Francesco Redi uses the word in the sense of an assistant with confidential duties.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(historical)'' A trusted official, sometimes an adviser, of a sovereign or prince, with high and often confidential duties.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # A [[m|en|secretary]]: an employee who does confidential work of various kinds for a superior in a firm, office or professional practice: ''Il segretario del direttore ha fissato l'appuntamento.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # In a public body, the officer who manages its administration, correspondence and records: ''il segretario comunale''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # The person who takes the [[m|en|minutes]] of a meeting or assembly.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # In schools, the employee in charge of administrative work.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # With a further qualifier, an assistant in film, television or publishing: ''segretario di produzione'', ''segretario di redazione''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # The [[m|en|leader]] of a political party, trade union or international organization: ''il segretario del sindacato''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(zoology)'' The [[m|en|secretary bird]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[segretariato]]

+ * [[segreteria]]

+ * [[sottosegretario]]

+ * [[vicesegretario]]

+ * [[segretariale]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[segreto]]

+ * [[secernere]]

+ * [[la|sēcrētus]]

+ * [[fr|secrétaire]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Segretario'' “secluded place; secret archive; sacristy” is a learned word from Latin ''secretarium'', used in the 14th century and by Vincenzo Borghini in the 16th.^(DEI|3443)^(GDLI) ''Segretario'' “writing desk with drawers” adapts French ''secrétaire'' and was used in the 18th and 19th centuries, by Goldoni among others.^(GDLI) ''Segretario'' is also used of women in titles of office (''la segretario generale'').^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}