Adjacent Words

Secondary definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SEC'ONDARY, a. [L. secundarius, from secundus.]
1. Succeeding next in order to the first; subordinate.
Where there is moral right on the one hand, not secondary right can discharge it.
L' Estrange.
2. Not primary; not of the first intention.
Two are racial differences; the secondary differences are as four. Bacon.
3. Not of the first order or rate; revolving about a primary planet. Primary planets revolve about the sun; secondary planets revolve about the primary.
4. Acting by deputation or delegated authority; as the work of secondary hands.
5. Acting in subordination, or second to another; as a secondary officer.
Secondary rocks, in geology, are those which were formed after the primary. they are always situated over or above the primitive and transition rocks; they abound with organic remains or petrifications, and are supposed to be mechanical deposits from water. Cleaveland.
A secondary fever, is that which arises after a crisis, or the discharge of some morbid matter, as after the declension of the small pox or measles. Quincy.
Secondary circles, or secondaries, in astronomy, circles passing through the poles of any of the great circles of the sphere, perpendicular to the planes of those circles.
Secondary qualities, are the qualities of bodies which are not inseparable from them, but which is proceed from casual circumstances, such as color, taste, odor, etc.
Secondary formations, in geology, formations of substances, subsequent to the primitive.
SEC'ONDARY, n.
1. A delegate or deputy; one who acts in subordination to another; as the secondaries of the court of king's bench and common pleas.
2. A fether growing on the second bone of a fowl's wing.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: being of second rank or importance or value; not direct or immediate; "the stone will be hauled to a secondary crusher"; "a secondary source"; "a secondary issue"; "secondary streams" [ant: primary]
2: inferior in rank or status; "the junior faculty"; "a lowly corporal"; "petty officialdom"; "a subordinate functionary" [syn: junior-grade, lower-ranking, lowly, petty, secondary, subaltern]
3: depending on or incidental to what is original or primary; "a secondary infection"
4: not of major importance; "played a secondary role in world events"
5: belonging to a lower class or rank n
1: the defensive football players who line up behind the linemen
2: coil such that current is induced in it by passing a current through the primary coil [syn: secondary coil, secondary winding, secondary]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Date: 14th century 1. a. of second rank, importance, or value b. of, relating to, or constituting the second strongest of the three or four degrees of stress recognized by most linguists <the fourth syllable of basketball team carries secondary stress> c. of a tense expressive of past time 2. a. immediately derived from something original, primary, or basic b. of, relating to, or being the induced current or its circuit in an induction coil or transformer <secondary voltage> c. characterized by or resulting from the substitution of two atoms or groups in a molecule <a secondary salt>; especially being, characterized by, or attached to a carbon atom having bonds to two other carbon atoms d. (1) not first in order of occurrence or development (2) dependent or consequent on another disease or condition <secondary hypertension> (3) produced by activity of formative tissue and especially cambium other than that at a growing point <secondary growth> <secondary phloem> 3. a. of, relating to, or being the second order or stage in a series b. of, relating to, or being the second segment of the wing of a bird or the quills of this segment c. of or relating to a secondary school <secondary education> • secondarily adverb • secondariness noun II. noun (plural -aries) Date: 15th century 1. one occupying a subordinate or auxiliary position rather than that of a principal 2. a defensive football backfield 3. the coil through which the secondary current passes in an induction coil or transformer — called also secondary coil 4. any of the quill feathers of the forearm of a bird — see wing illustration

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 coming after or next below what is primary. 2 derived from or depending on or supplementing what is primary. 3 (of education, a school, etc.) for those who have had primary education, usu. from 11 to 18 years. 4 Electr. a (of a cell or battery) having a reversible chemical reaction and therefore able to store energy. b denoting a device using electromagnetic induction, esp. a transformer. --n. (pl. -ies) 1 a secondary thing. 2 a secondary device or current. Phrases and idioms: secondary colour the result of mixing two primary colours. secondary feather a feather growing from the second joint of a bird's wing. secondary picketing the picketing of premises of a firm not otherwise involved in the dispute in question. secondary planet a satellite of a planet (cf. primary planet). secondary sexual characteristics those distinctive of one sex but not directly related to reproduction. Derivatives: secondarily adv. secondariness n. Etymology: ME f. L secundarius (as SECOND(1))

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Secondary Sec"ond*a*ry, a. [Cf. F. secondaire, L. secundaire. See Second, a.] 1. Suceeding next in order to the first; of second place, origin, rank, rank, etc.; not primary; subordinate; not of the first order or rate. Wheresoever there is normal right on the one hand, no secondary right can discharge it. --L'Estrange. Two are the radical differences; the secondary differences are as four. --Bacon. 2. Acting by deputation or delegated authority; as, the work of secondary hands. 3. (Chem.) Possessing some quality, or having been subject to some operation (as substitution), in the second degree; as, a secondary salt, a secondary amine, etc. Cf. primary. 4. (Min.) Subsequent in origin; -- said of minerals produced by alteertion or deposition subsequent to the formation of the original rocks mass; also of characters of minerals (as secondary cleavage, etc.) developed by pressure or other causes. 5. (Zo["o]l.) Pertaining to the second joint of the wing of a bird. 6. (Med.) Dependent or consequent upon another disease; as, Bright's disease is often secondary to scarlet fever. (b) Occuring in the second stage of a disease; as, the secondary symptoms of syphilis. Secondary accent. See the Note under Accent, n., 1. Secondary age. (Geol.) The Mesozoic age, or age before the Tertiary. See Mesozoic, and Note under Age, n., 8. Secondary alcohol (Chem.), any one of a series of alcohols which contain the radical CH.OH united with two hydrocarbon radicals. On oxidation the secondary alcohols form ketones. Secondary amputation (Surg.), an amputation for injury, performed after the constitutional effects of the injury have subsided. Secondary axis (Opt.), any line which passes through the optical center of a lens but not through the centers of curvature, or, in the case of a mirror, which passes through the center of curvature but not through the center of the mirror. Secondary battery. (Elec.) See under Battery, n., 4. Secondary circle (Geom. & Astron.), a great circle passes through the poles of another great circle and is therefore perpendicular to its plane. Secondary circuit, Secondary coil (Elec.), a circuit or coil in which a current is produced by the induction of a current in a neighboring circuit or coil called the primary circuit or coil. Secondary color, a color formed by mixing any two primary colors in equal proportions. Secondary coverts (Zo["o]l.), the longer coverts which overlie the basal part of the secondary quills of a bird. See Illust. under Bird. Secondary crystal (Min.), a crystal derived from one of the primary forms. Secondary current (Elec.), a momentary current induced in a closed circuit by a current of electricity passing through the same or a contiguous circuit at the beginning and also at the end of the passage of the primary current. Secondary evidence, that which is admitted upon failure to obtain the primary or best evidence. Secondary fever (Med.), a fever coming on in a disease after the subsidence of the fever with which the disease began, as the fever which attends the outbreak of the eruption in smallpox. Secondary hemorrhage (Med.), hemorrhage occuring from a wounded blood vessel at some considerable time after the original bleeding has ceased. Secondary planet. (Astron.) See the Note under Planet. Secondary qualities, those qualities of bodies which are not inseparable from them as such, but are dependent for their development and intensity on the organism of the percipient, such as color, taste, odor, etc. Secondary quills or remiges (Zo["o]l.), the quill feathers arising from the forearm of a bird and forming a row continuous with the primaries; -- called also secondaries. See Illust. of Bird. Secondary rocks or strata (Geol.), those lying between the Primary, or Paleozoic, and Tertiary (see Primary rocks, under Primary); -- later restricted to strata of the Mesozoic age, and at but little used. Secondary syphilis (Med.), the second stage of syphilis, including the period from the first development of constitutional symptoms to the time when the bones and the internal organs become involved. Secondary tint, any subdued tint, as gray. Secondary union (Surg.), the union of wounds after suppuration; union by the second intention. Syn: Second; second-rate; subordinate; inferior.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Secondary Sec"ond*a*ry, n.; pl. Secondaries. 1. One who occupies a subordinate, inferior, or auxiliary place; a delegate deputy; one who is second or next to the chief officer; as, the secondary, or undersheriff of the city of London. Old Escalus . . . is thy secondary. --Shak. 2. (Astron.) (a) A secondary circle. (b) A satellite. 3. (Zo["o]l.) A secondary quill.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Reptilian Rep*til"i*an (-an), a. Belonging to the reptiles. Reptilian age (Geol.), that part of geological time comprising the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods, and distinguished as that era in which the class of reptiles attained its highest expansion; -- called also the Secondary or Mezozoic age.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Use Use, n. [OE. us use, usage, L. usus, from uti, p. p. usus, to use. See Use, v. t.] 1. The act of employing anything, or of applying it to one's service; the state of being so employed or applied; application; employment; conversion to some purpose; as, the use of a pen in writing; his machines are in general use. Books can never teach the use of books. --Bacon. This Davy serves you for good uses. --Shak. When he framed All things to man's delightful use. --Milton. 2. Occasion or need to employ; necessity; as, to have no further use for a book. --Shak. 3. Yielding of service; advantage derived; capability of being used; usefulness; utility. God made two great lights, great for their use To man. --Milton. 'T is use alone that sanctifies expense. --Pope. 4. Continued or repeated practice; customary employment; usage; custom; manner; habit. Let later age that noble use envy. --Spenser. How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable, Seem to me all the uses of this world! --Shak. 5. Common occurrence; ordinary experience. [R.] O C[ae]sar! these things are beyond all use. --Shak. 6. (Eccl.) The special form of ritual adopted for use in any diocese; as, the Sarum, or Canterbury, use; the Hereford use; the York use; the Roman use; etc. From henceforth all the whole realm shall have but one use. --Pref. to Book of Common Prayer. 7. The premium paid for the possession and employment of borrowed money; interest; usury. [Obs.] Thou art more obliged to pay duty and tribute, use and principal, to him. --Jer. Taylor. 8. [In this sense probably a corruption of OF. oes, fr. L. opus need, business, employment, work. Cf. Operate.] (Law) The benefit or profit of lands and tenements. Use imports a trust and confidence reposed in a man for the holding of lands. He to whose use or benefit the trust is intended shall enjoy the profits. An estate is granted and limited to A for the use of B. 9. (Forging) A stab of iron welded to the side of a forging, as a shaft, near the end, and afterward drawn down, by hammering, so as to lengthen the forging. Contingent, or Springing, use (Law), a use to come into operation on a future uncertain event. In use. (a) In employment; in customary practice observance. (b) In heat; -- said especially of mares. --J. H. Walsh. Of no use, useless; of no advantage. Of use, useful; of advantage; profitable. Out of use, not in employment. Resulting use (Law), a use, which, being limited by the deed, expires or can not vest, and results or returns to him who raised it, after such expiration. Secondary, or Shifting, use, a use which, though executed, may change from one to another by circumstances. --Blackstone. Statute of uses (Eng. Law), the stat. 27 Henry VIII., cap. 10, which transfers uses into possession, or which unites the use and possession. To make use of, To put to use, to employ; to derive service from; to use.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. If you describe something as secondary, you mean that it is less important than something else. The street erupted in a huge explosion, with secondary explosions in the adjoining buildings... The actual damage to the brain cells is secondary to the damage caused to the blood supply. ADJ: usu ADJ n, also v-link ADJ to n 2. Secondary diseases or infections happen as a result of another disease or infection that has already happened. He had kidney cancer, with secondary tumours in the brain and lungs. ADJ: usu ADJ n 3. Secondary education is given to pupils between the ages of 11 or 12 and 17 or 18. Examinations for the GCSE are taken after about five years of secondary education. ADJ

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. Subordinate, inferior, minor. II. n. Deputy, delegate, proxy.

Moby Thesaurus

Janus-like, Maxwell triangle, Munsell scale, accessory, accident, accidental, addendum, addition, additional, adjunct, adscititious, adventitious, advocate, agent, alter ego, alternate, alternative, ambidextrous, amicus curiae, analogy, ancillary, appendage, appurtenance, appurtenant, ascititious, assistant, attorney, auxiliary, backup, backup man, bifacial, bifold, biform, bilateral, binary, binate, biparous, bivalent, borrowed, casual, champion, change, changeling, chromatic circle, chromatic spectrum, chromaticity diagram, circumstantial, cog, collateral, color circle, color cycle, color index, color mixture curve, color solid, color spectrum, color system, color triangle, coming, common, commonality, commonalty, comparison, complementary color, conduplicate, consequent, contingency, contingent, copied, copy, counterfeit, covert, creature, demeaning, demitint, dependent, deputy, derivational, derivative, derived, dinky, disadvantaged, disomatous, double, double-faced, dual, dummy, duple, duplex, duplicate, employee, equal, equivalent, ersatz, eventual, exchange, executive officer, exponent, extra, fake, feather, feathers, figurehead, fill-in, final, flunky, follower, fortuitous, full color, fundamental colors, geminate, geminated, ghost, ghostwriter, hackle, half tint, halftone, happenstance, helper, hoi polloi, hue cycle, humble, imitated, imitation, in the shade, incidental, indirect, inessential, inferior, infra dig, insignificant, junior, last, less, lesser, lieutenant, lightweight, locum, locum tenens, low, low-priority, lower, lower class, lower orders, lowly, mail, makeshift, marginal, masses, mere chance, metamer, metaphor, metonymy, minor, mock, modest, monochrome, next best thing, no great shakes, nonessential, not-self, of no account, of no consequence, of no matter, of no significance, ordinary, other, paranymph, pawn, personnel, phony, pinch, pinch hitter, pleader, plumage, poor relation, primary, primary color, procurator, provisional, proxy, pure color, relief, replacement, representative, reserve, reserves, resultant, right-hand man, ringer, scrub, second, second fiddle, second in command, second rank, second string, secondary color, secondhand, servant, servile, sign, small, small-fry, small-time, solar spectrum, spare, spares, spectral color, spectrum, spectrum color, speculum, stand-in, stopgap, sub, subaltern, subject, subordinate, subsequent, subservient, subsidiary, substituent, substitute, substitution, succedaneum, superadded, superaddition, superfluous, superseder, supervenient, supplanter, supplement, supplemental, supplementary, supporting, supportive, surrogate, symbol, synecdoche, temporary, tentative, tertiary, tertiary color, third rank, third string, third stringer, token, tributary, twin, twinned, two-faced, two-level, two-ply, two-sided, two-story, twofold, ultimate, under, underling, underprivileged, understrapper, understudy, unessential, unimportant, unoriginal, utility, utility man, utility player, vicar, vicar general, vicarious, vice, vice-president, vice-regent, vicegerent, vulgar, yes-man