Etymograph

English

secretaire

Secretaire comes from French secrétaire ‘secretary’, from Latin secrētus ‘put apart, sundered, severed, separated,…’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *krey-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krey-1‘to sift, separate, divide’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*krinō1‘to sift, separate’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcernō1‘to see, to discern’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsēcernō2‘separate’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsecrētus3‘put apart, sundered, severed, separated, having been separated’
  6. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500secrētārius3‘a confidential clerk, scribe, or secretary’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentsecrétaire4‘secretary’
  8. Englishtodaysecretaire4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin secerno
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin secretus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, French secrétaire
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English secretaire

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krey-Wiktionary, Latin secerno‘to sift, separate, divide’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*krinōWiktionary, Latin secerno‘to sift, separate’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcernōWiktionary, Latin secerno‘to see, to discern’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsēcernōWiktionary, Latin secretus‘separate’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsecrētusWiktionary, French secrétaire‘put apart, sundered, severed, separated, having been separated’
  6. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500secrētāriusWiktionary, French secrétaire‘a confidential clerk, scribe, or secretary’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentsecrétaireWiktionary, English secretaire‘secretary’
  8. EnglishtodaysecretaireWiktionary, English secretaire

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *krey- ‘to sift, separate, divide’

certain, crime, criminal, crisis, critic, critique, riddle, criterion, hypocrite, discernible, discreet, endocrine, discernment, rime, incriminate, incrimination, ridder, certitude, criterium, recrimination, excrete, 44 more

through Latin cernō ‘to see, to discern’

discrimination, discretion, discriminate, discern, discrete, excrement, excretion, 10 more

Today it means

noun A kind of writing desk (a secretary).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “secretaire”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin secerno, Latin secretus, French secrétaire. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *krey- / secretaire

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