Did you know?
If you guessed that the secret to the origins of secrete is the word secret, you are correct. Secrete developed in the mid-18th century as an alteration of a now obsolete verb secret. That verb had the meaning now carried by secrete and derived from the familiar noun secret ("something kept hidden or unexplained"). The noun, in turn, traces back to the Latin secretus, the past participle of the verb secernere, meaning "to separate" or "to distinguish." Incidentally, there is an earlier and distinct verb secrete with the more scientific meaning "to form and give off (a secretion)." That secrete is a back-formation from secretion, another word that can be traced back to secernere.
Examples of secrete in a Sentence
Emily Elconin, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2025
Pepto-Bismol reduces the amount of fluids that are secreted into the intestines.
—Jessica Swirble, Verywell Health, 12 Feb. 2025
Those should properly be studied and debated on their own, rather than be secreted in the budget package.
—Dan Walters, Orange County Register, 5 Feb. 2025
Some of the most common animal extracts used in hair perfumes are musk and ambergris, which is a waxy substance that is secreted by sperm whales.
—Bestreviews, The Mercury News, 6 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for secrete
Cite this Entry
“Secrete.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/secrete. Accessed 26 Feb. 2025.
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