Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Secondary in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels secondary as adjective. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913adjective
Secondary

[Cf. F. secondaire, L. secundaire. See Second, a.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordsecondary
Part of speechadjective
Historical etymology[Cf. F. secondaire, L. secundaire. See Second, a.]
Selected historical definitionSucceeding next in order to the first; of second place, origin, rank, etc.; not primary; subordinate; not of the first order or rate.
Signed record IDwebster1913-secondary-adjective-f7ed3ff09ea0
Source locatorCIDE.S, paragraph 4425; Gutenberg eBook 668
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 668Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "secondary" is labeled adjective. Its etymology is recorded as: "[Cf. F. secondaire, L. secundaire. See Second, a.]" The selected historical definition says: "Succeeding next in order to the first; of second place, origin, rank, etc.; not primary; subordinate; not of the first order or rate."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-10-04

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

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adjective

Still

[OE. stille, AS. stille; akin to D. stil, OS. & OHG. stilli, G. still, Dan. stille, Sw. stilla, and to E. stall; from the idea of coming to a stand, or halt. Cf. Still, adv.]

Webster 1913 exact recordverb

Support

[F. supporter, L. supportare to carry on, to convey, in LL., to support, sustain; sub under + portare to carry. See Port demeanor.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Season

[OE. sesoun, F. saison, properly, the sowing time, fr. L. satio a sowing, a planting, fr. serere, satum, to sow, plant; akin to E. sow, v., to scatter, as seed.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Story

[OE. storie, OF. estoire, F. histoire, fr. L. historia. See History.]

Webster 1913 exact recordadjective

Single

[L. singulus, a dim. from the root in simplex simple; cf. OE. & OF. sengle, fr. L. singulus. See Simple, and cf. Singular.]

Webster 1913 exact record

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