secondary
adjective
- of second level, not primary
- coming after (temporally or importance, etc)
noun
- term in organic chemistry used to describe degree of substitution of an atom in a molecule
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈsɛkənd(ə)ɹɪ/ / /ˈsɛkənˌdɛɹi/
adj
Etymology: 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.
- Next in order to the first or primary; of second place in origin, rank, etc.
- Originating from a deputy or delegated person or body.
“the work of secondary hands”
- Derived from a parent compound by replacement of two atoms of hydrogen by organic radicals.
- Produced by alteration or deposition subsequent to the formation of the original rock mass.
- Developed by pressure or other causes.
“secondary cleavage”
- Pertaining to the second joint of the wing of a bird.
- Dependent or consequent upon another disease, or occurring in the second stage of a disease.
“Bright's disease is often secondary to scarlet fever.”
“the secondary symptoms of syphilis”
- Of less than primary importance.
“a secondary issue”
“the problem of sexual equality became even more secondary than before in the eyes of the kibbutz and of its women members.”
- Related to secondary education, i.e. schooling between the ages of (approximately) 11 and 18.
- Relating to the manufacture of goods from raw materials.
- Formed by mixing primary colors.
“Yellow is a secondary light color, though a primary CMYK color.”
- 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
Etymology: 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.
- Any flight feather attached to the ulna (forearm) of a bird.
- 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.
- 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.
- An act of issuing more stock by an already publicly traded corporation.
- The defensive backs.
- An inductive coil or loop that is magnetically powered by a primary in a transformer or similar.
- One who occupies a subordinate or auxiliary place; a delegate deputy.
“the secondary, or undersheriff, of the city of London”
“Old Escalus […] is thy secondary.”
- A secondary circle.
- A satellite.
- A secondary school.
“There are four secondaries in this district, each with several thousand pupils.”
- Ellipsis of secondary colour.
- Anything secondary or of lesser importance.