secretum Latin · revision 7779

16 Oct 2026, 14:34 by bogdan “New Latin entry (sources: de Vaan, OLD, Lewis & Short, TLL...)” current version
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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=Virgil|origins=la cernō}}
+ 
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA (Classical): [seːˈkreː.tũː]^(Wiktionary)
+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [seˈkrɛː.tum]^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Forms==
+ '''sēcrētum''' ''n'' (genitive sēcrētī); second declension^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is the neuter of [[sēcrētus]] “separate, secret”, the past participle of [[sēcernō]] “to set apart”, used as a noun.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)
+ 
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ Köbler's first source is Virgil, whom he dates 70–19 BC, and the OLD cites Virgil for a secluded place.^(Köbler 2010)^(OLD 2012)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ It meant retirement, seclusion, as in Ovid, ''in sēcrētō'' in private, as in Livy, and in Virgil a secluded place, a retreat.^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016) In Seneca it meant privacy, ''sēcrētum petere'' to ask for a private interview, in Tacitus private dealings and private life, and in Suetonius private papers.^(OLD 2012) From Livy it meant a secret, in Ovid a mystic rite, in Pliny the Elder a hidden process, and in Gellius abstruseness.^(OLD 2012)
+ 
+ Medieval Latin used ''ā sēcrētīs'' for a secretary.^(Niermeyer 1976) Medieval Latin ''sēcrētārius'' “confidential officer” from it gave [[en|secretary]] in the late 14th century.^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of a secluded place.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of a secret.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it of private life.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * late 14th century – English ''secretary'' is recorded.^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Meanings==
+ ===Noun===
+ # Seclusion, retirement, ''in sēcrētō'', in private.^(OLD 2012)
+ # A secluded place, retreat.^(OLD 2012)
+ # Privacy; private dealings; private papers.^(OLD 2012)
+ # A [[m|en|secret]]; a mystic rite; a hidden process.^(OLD 2012)
+ 
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[sēcernō]]
+ * [[sēcrētus]]
+ * [[en|secret]]
+ * [[en|secretary]]
+ 
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}