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secondary

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secondary

  • /ˈsɛkənd(ə)ɹɪ/ UK
  • /ˈsɛkənˌdɛɹi/ US

Where it comes from

From Middle English secundarie, from Latin secundārius (“of the second class or quality”), from secundus (whence the English second) + -ārius (whence the English suffix -ary), equivalent to second + -ary; compare the French secondaire, the Italian secondario, the Occitan secundari, the Portuguese secundario, and the Spanish secundario.

adjective more secondary · most secondary

  1. not comparable, usually Next in order to the first or primary; of second place in origin, rank, etc.
  2. not comparable, usually Originating from a deputy or delegated person or body. the work of secondary hands
  3. not comparable, usually Derived from a parent compound by replacement of two atoms of hydrogen by organic radicals.
  4. not comparable, usually Produced by alteration or deposition subsequent to the formation of the original rock mass.
  5. not comparable, usually Developed by pressure or other causes. secondary cleavage
  6. not comparable, usually Pertaining to the second joint of the wing of a bird.
  7. not comparable, usually Dependent or consequent upon another disease, or occurring in the second stage of a disease. Bright's disease is often secondary to scarlet fever.

    Opposite: idiopathic

  8. not comparable, usually Of less than primary importance. a secondary issue

    Similar: associate

  9. not comparable, usually Related to secondary education, i.e. schooling between the ages of (approximately) 11 and 18.
  10. not comparable, usually Relating to the manufacture of goods from raw materials.
  11. not comparable, usually, of a color Formed by mixing primary colors. Yellow is a secondary light color, though a primary CMYK color.
  12. not comparable, usually Representing a reversion to an ancestral state. With the exception of a secondary loss in Dimecoenia, larvae of Ephydrini have prominent, ventral prolegs that bear crochets.

noun secondaries

  1. Any flight feather attached to the ulna (forearm) of a bird.
  2. A radar return generated by the response of an aircraft's transponder to an interrogation signal broadcast by a radar installation, containing additional encoded identification and situational data not available from a simple primary return.
  3. The second stage of a multistage thermonuclear weapon, which generates a fusion explosion when imploded as an indirect result of the fission explosion of the primary, and which, in a few extremely large weapons, itself implodes a fusion tertiary.
  4. An act of issuing more stock by an already publicly traded corporation.
  5. Canadian The defensive backs.
  6. An inductive coil or loop that is magnetically powered by a primary in a transformer or similar.
  7. One who occupies a subordinate or auxiliary place; a delegate deputy. the secondary, or undersheriff, of the city of London
  8. A secondary circle.
  9. A satellite.
  10. A secondary school. There are four secondaries in this district, each with several thousand pupils.
  11. abbreviation, ellipsis Ellipsis of secondary colour
  12. Anything secondary or of lesser importance.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: incident, secondhand, alternate, indirect, alternative, supplemental, collateral, supplementary, utility, incidental, subsidiary, auxiliary, substitute, standby, subordinate, vicarious

Translations

Every language

adj acting by deputation

Españolsuplente

adj succeeding first

Españolsecundario
日本語二次的な nijiteki na, 二義的な nigiteki na, 副次的な fukujiteki na
हिन्दीद्वितीय dvitīya, दूसरा dūsrā
Portuguêssecundário
Françaissecondaire
Deutschsekundär
Italianosecondario, secondaria
Ελληνικάδευτερεύων defterévon
Românăsecundar
Русскийвтори́чный vtoríčnyj
Tiếng Việtthứ hai, thứ nhì, thứ cấp
العربيةثَانَوِيّ ṯānawiyy

noun flight feather attached to the ulna

DeutschArmschwinge

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"secondary." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/secondary. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

secondary. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/secondary

Chicago

"secondary." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/secondary.

BibTeX
@misc{secondary_2026,
  title = {secondary},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/secondary},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}