secret

The definition of a secret is something kept from public knowledge or the knowledge of a specific person.

(noun)

See secret in Webster's New World College Dictionary

adjective

Origin: OFr < L secretus, pp. of secernere, to set apart < se-, apart (see secede) + cernere, to sift, distinguish: see harvest

noun

something known only to a certain person or persons and purposely kept from the knowledge of others
something not revealed, understood, or explained; mystery: the secret of Stonehenge
the true cause or explanation, regarded as not obvious: the secret of one's success
a prayer said just before the Preface of the Mass

Related Forms:

See secret in American Heritage Dictionary 4

adjective

Kept hidden from knowledge or view; concealed.
Dependably discreet.
Operating in a hidden or confidential manner: a secret agent.
Not expressed; inward: their secret thoughts.
Not frequented; secluded: wandered about the secret byways of Paris.
Known or shared only by the initiated: secret rites.
Beyond ordinary understanding; mysterious.
Containing information, the unauthorized disclosure of which poses a grave threat to national security.

noun

Something kept hidden from others or known only to oneself or to a few.
Something that remains beyond understanding or explanation; a mystery.
A method or formula on which success is based: The secret of this dish is in the sauce.
Secret A variable prayer said after the Offertory and before the Preface in the Mass.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English

Origin: , from Old French

Origin: , from Latin sēcrētus

Origin: , from past participle of sēcernere, to set aside

Origin: : sē-, apart; see s(w)e- in Indo-European roots

Origin: + cernere, to separate; see krei- in Indo-European roots

Related Forms: