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sec
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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See also: Appendix:Variations of "sec"
Translingual
Etymology 1
Symbol
sec
- (trigonometry) Symbol of the trigonometric function secant.
Etymology 2
Symbol
sec
- (nonstandard) second, the SI base unit for measurement of time.
- Synonym: s (official SI symbol)
Etymology 3
Symbol
sec
See also
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English
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sɛk/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - Rhymes: -ɛk
Noun
- (informal) Second, 1⁄60 of a minute. [from 1881]
- (colloquial) Clipping of second (“short indeterminate period of time”).
- Synonyms: jiffy, mo, tic; see also Thesaurus:moment
- Wait a sec!
- 1881 August 27, “In Church”, in Supplement to the Manchester Weekly Times, Manchester, England, page 8:
- And the sloping of the shoulder / From the slender shapely neck / Makes you long to come behind her and to hold her / Just a sec.
- (colloquial, especially politics) Clipping of secretary
- shadow sec
Derived terms
See also
Anagrams
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Aromanian
Etymology 1
From Latin siccus. Compare Romanian sec.
Alternative forms
Adjective
sec
Etymology 2
From Latin siccō. Compare Romanian seca, sec.
Alternative forms
Verb
sec first-singular present indicative (third-person singular present indicative seacã, past participle sicatã)
Related terms
Catalan
Etymology 1
Inherited from Old Catalan sech, from Latin siccus (“dry”), from Proto-Indo-European *seyk-.
Pronunciation
Adjective
sec (feminine seca, masculine plural secs, feminine plural seques)
Related terms
Etymology 2
Deverbal from segar (“to harvest”).
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Noun
sec m (plural secs)
Etymology 3
Pronunciation
Verb
sec
Further reading
- “sec”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
- “sec”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
- “sec” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “sec” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
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Dutch
Etymology
Pronunciation
Adjective
sec (used only predicatively, not comparable)
- (of wine) dry
- (figuratively) simple, plain, matter-of-fact, without adornment
Usage notes
- The figurative sense is often used adverbially:
- Hij presenteerde de zaak sec en zonder emotie. ― He presented the case matter-of-factly and without emotion.
French
Etymology
Inherited from Old French sec, from Latin siccus (“dry”), from Proto-Indo-European *seyk-.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sɛk/, /sɛkʲ/
Audio (Paris): (file) Audio (Switzerland (Valais)): (file) Audio (France (Toulouse)): (file) Audio (France (Vosges)): (file) Audio (France): (file) Audio (France (Grenoble)): (file) Audio (France (Vosges)): (file) Audio (France (Vosges)): (file) Audio (France (Hérault)): (file) Audio (France (Lyon)): (file) Audio (France (Massy)): (file) - Rhymes: -ɛk
Adjective
sec (feminine sèche, masculine plural secs, feminine plural sèches)
- dry
- dried, having had its moisture evaporated
- des abricots secs ― dried apricots
- du poisson sec ― dried fish
- lean, thin, skinny
- 1837, Louis Viardot, L’Ingénieux Hidalgo Don Quichotte de la Manche, translation of El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Volume I, Chapter I:
- [I]l était de complexion robuste, maigre de corps, sec de visage, fort matineux et grand ami de la chasse.
- [H]e was of a robust complexion, thin in the body, lean in the face, a very early riser and a friend of the hunt.
- (of alcohol) dry, unsweetened, not sweet, bitter
- (of a person) curt
- Désolé si j'ai été un peu sec.
- Sorry if I was a bit curt.
Descendants
Noun
sec m (plural secs)
- something that is dry
- 1883, Louis Segond, transl., La Bible, Genesis 1:9:
- Que les eaux qui sont au-dessous du ciel se rassemblent en un seul lieu, et que le sec paraisse.
- Let the waters below the heavens gather in one place, and let the dry stuff (i.e. the land) come forth.
Adverb
sec
- sharply, abruptly, quickly, swiftly, briskly
- Les bouches buvaient sec et parlaient beaucoup.
- The mouths were eating quickly and talking a lot
Derived terms
Related terms
Further reading
- “sec”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
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Lower Sorbian
Alternative forms
- ssez (obsolete)
Etymology
From Proto-Slavic *sěťi (“to cut, chop”).
Pronunciation
Verb
sec impf (perfective pósec)
- to mow (cut something down)
Conjugation
Conjugation of sec (imperfective)
Derived terms
- pódsec
- pśesec
- rozsec
- secenje
- seceński
- seck
- secnica
- secomłośenica
- secosekawa
- secowězak
- wótsec
- wusec
- zasec
Further reading
- Muka, Arnošt (1921, 1928), “sec”, in Słownik dolnoserbskeje rěcy a jeje narěcow (in German), St. Petersburg, Prague: ОРЯС РАН, ČAVU; Reprinted Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag, 2008
- Starosta, Manfred (1999), “sec”, in Dolnoserbsko-nimski słownik / Niedersorbisch-deutsches Wörterbuch (in German), Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag
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Occitan
Etymology
From Old Occitan sec, from Latin siccus (“dry”), from Proto-Indo-European *seyk-.
Pronunciation
Adjective
sec m (feminine singular seca, masculine plural secs, feminine plural secas)
Related terms
Further reading
- Joan de Cantalausa (2006), Diccionari general occitan a partir dels parlars lengadocians, 2 edition, →ISBN, page 898.
- Diccionari General de la Lenga Occitana, L’Academia occitana – Consistòri del Gai Saber, 2008-2024, page 591.
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Old English
Pronunciation
Adjective
sēc (Anglian)
- alternative form of sēoc
Declension
Declension of sēc — Strong
Declension of sēc — Weak
Old French
Etymology
Adjective
sec m (oblique and nominative feminine singular seche)
- dry (lacking moisture)
Declension
Descendants
References
- Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle (1881) (sec, supplement)
- sec on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub
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Romanian
Etymology
Inherited from Latin siccus, from Proto-Indo-European *seyk-.
Pronunciation
Adjective
sec m or n (feminine singular seacă, plural seci)
- dry
- barren, empty, deserted; also dried up
- (figuratively) missing or deficient in something, lacking; also useless
- (figuratively) dull, stupid, empty-headed
- (regional, Transylvania) skinny
Declension
Synonyms
Related terms
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Romansch
Alternative forms
Etymology
Adjective
sec m (feminine singular secca, masculine plural secs, feminine plural seccas)
Swedish
Adjective
sec
- dry (especially of white wine)
References
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