Dictionary Definition
secondary adj
1 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,
inferior, lower, lower-ranking,
lowly, petty(a), subaltern, subordinate]
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
Noun
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]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Etymology
From secundarius.Pronunciation
Adjective
- Succeeding next in order to the first; of second place, origin, rank, rank, etc.; not primary; subordinate; not of the first order or rate.
- Acting by deputation or delegated authority; as, the work of secondary hands.
- 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.
- Subsequent in origin; -- said of minerals produced by alteration 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.
- Pertaining to the second joint of the wing of a bird.
- 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.
Translations
succeeding first
- Greek: δευτερεύων (defterévon)
- Dutch: secundair
acting by deputation
- Dutch: plaatsvervangend, plaatsvervangende
See also
Extensive Definition
Secondary is an adjective meaning "second" or
"second hand". It may refer to:
- Secondary education
- A secondary consumer in an ecological sense
- Secondary dominant, in music
- Secondary, in American football and Canadian football, the group of (usually at least four) defensive backs
- A Secondary functional group (or usually ion) attached to carbon atom connected to 2 other Carbon atoms in organic chemistry
- Secondaries, the second-largest group of remiges (wing feathers), which attach to the inner lower arm
- Secondary circuit, electrical circuit in a Transformer in which current is produced by electromagnetic induction, as opposed to a primary circuit
secondary in Spanish: Secundario
secondary in Persian: ثانوی
secondary in French: Secondaire
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
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