Secondary

//ˈsɛkənˌdɛɹi// adj, noun

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Next in order to the first or primary; of second place in origin, rank, etc. not-comparable, usually
  2. 2
    Originating from a deputy or delegated person or body. not-comparable, usually

    "the work of secondary hands"

  3. 3
    Derived from a parent compound by replacement of two atoms of hydrogen by organic radicals. not-comparable, usually
  4. 4
    Produced by alteration or deposition subsequent to the formation of the original rock mass. not-comparable, usually
  5. 5
    Developed by pressure or other causes. not-comparable, usually

    "secondary cleavage"

Show 7 more definitions
  1. 6
    Pertaining to the second joint of the wing of a bird. not-comparable, usually
  2. 7
    Dependent or consequent upon another disease, or occurring in the second stage of a disease. not-comparable, usually

    "Bright's disease is often secondary to scarlet fever."

  3. 8
    Of less than primary importance. not-comparable, usually

    "a secondary issue"

  4. 9
    Related to secondary education, i.e. schooling between the ages of (approximately) 11 and 18. not-comparable, usually
  5. 10
    Relating to the manufacture of goods from raw materials. not-comparable, usually
  6. 11
    Formed by mixing primary colors. not-comparable, usually

    "Yellow is a secondary light color, though a primary CMYK color."

  7. 12
    Representing a reversion to an ancestral state. not-comparable, usually

    "With the exception of a secondary loss in Dimecoenia, larvae of Ephydrini have prominent, ventral prolegs that bear crochets."

Adjective
  1. 1
    belonging to a lower class or rank wordnet
  2. 2
    not of major importance wordnet
  3. 3
    being of second rank or importance or value; not direct or immediate wordnet
  4. 4
    depending on or incidental to what is original or primary wordnet
  5. 5
    inferior in rank or status wordnet
Noun
  1. 1
    Any flight feather attached to the ulna (forearm) of a bird.
  2. 2
    coil such that current is induced in it by passing a current through the primary coil wordnet
  3. 3
    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.
  4. 4
    the defensive football players who line up behind the linemen wordnet
  5. 5
    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.
Show 9 more definitions
  1. 6
    An act of issuing more stock by an already publicly traded corporation.
  2. 7
    The defensive backs. Canadian
  3. 8
    An inductive coil or loop that is magnetically powered by a primary in a transformer or similar.
  4. 9
    One who occupies a subordinate or auxiliary place; a delegate deputy.

    "the secondary, or undersheriff, of the city of London"

  5. 10
    A secondary circle.
  6. 11
    A satellite.
  7. 12
    A secondary school.

    "There are four secondaries in this district, each with several thousand pupils."

  8. 13
    Ellipsis of secondary colour. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
  9. 14
    Anything secondary or of lesser importance.

Etymology

Etymology 1

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.

Etymology 2

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.

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