Clipping ofEnglishsecant.
sec
- (trigonometry) Symbol of thetrigonometric functionsecant.
- Coordinate terms:csc,cot,arcsec
Clipping ofEnglishsecond.
sec
- (nonstandard)second, the SI base unit for measurement of time.
- Synonym:s(official SI symbol)
Clipping ofEnglishSechelt.
sec
- (international standards)ISO 639-3language code forSechelt.
sec (pluralsecorsecs)
- (informal)Second,1⁄60 of a minute.[from 1881]
- (colloquial)Clipping ofsecond(“short indeterminate period of time”).
- Synonyms:jiffy,mo,tic;see alsoThesaurus:moment
Wait asec!
1881 August 27, “In Church”, inSupplement 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 asec.
- (colloquial, especially politics)Clipping ofsecretary
shadowsec
FromLatinsiccus. CompareRomaniansec.
sec
- dry
- barren,deserted
FromLatinsiccō. CompareRomanianseca,sec.
secfirst-singular present indicative (third-person singular present indicativeseacã,past participlesicatã)
- todry,dry up
- toexhaust,wither,drain,empty
Inherited fromOld Catalansech, fromLatinsiccus(“dry”), fromProto-Indo-European*seyk-.
sec (feminineseca,masculine pluralsecs,feminine pluralseques)
- dry(free from or lacking moisture)
- Synonym:eixut
- (of wine)dry(low in sugar)
- skinny
Deverbal fromsegar(“to harvest”).
sec m (pluralsecs)
- fold
- groove
- wrinkle
sec
- first-personsingularpresentindicative ofseure
- “sec”, inDiccionari 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”, inGran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana,Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana,2025
- “sec” inDiccionari normatiu valencià,Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “sec” inDiccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
FromFrenchsec.
sec (used onlypredicatively,notcomparable)
- (of wine)dry
- (figuratively)simple,plain,matter-of-fact, withoutadornment
- The figurative sense is often used adverbially:
- Hij presenteerde de zaaksec en zonder emotie. ―He presented the casematter-of-factly and without emotion.
Inherited fromOld Frenchsec, fromLatinsiccus(“dry”), fromProto-Indo-European*seyk-.
sec (femininesèche,masculine pluralsecs,feminine pluralsèches)
- dry
- dried, having had itsmoistureevaporated
- des abricotssecs ―dried apricots
- du poissonsec ―dried fish
- lean,thin,skinny
1837, Louis Viardot,L’Ingénieux Hidalgo Don Quichotte de la Manche, translation ofEl 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, notsweet,bitter
- (of a person)curt
Désolé si j'ai été un peusec.- Sorry if I was a bit curt.
sec m (pluralsecs)
- 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 lesec paraisse.- Let the waters below the heavens gather in one place, and let thedry stuff (i.e. the land) come forth.
sec
- sharply,abruptly,quickly,swiftly,briskly
Les bouches buvaientsec et parlaient beaucoup.- The mouths were eatingquickly and talking a lot
FromProto-Slavic*sěťi(“to cut, chop”).
sec impf (perfectivepósec)
- tomow(cut something down)
- Muka, Arnošt (1921, 1928), “sec”, inSłownik dolnoserbskeje rěcy a jeje narěcow (in German), St. Petersburg, Prague:ОРЯС РАН,ČAVU; Reprinted Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag,2008
- Starosta, Manfred (1999), “sec”, inDolnoserbsko-nimski słownik / Niedersorbisch-deutsches Wörterbuch (in German), Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag
FromOld Occitansec, fromLatinsiccus(“dry”), fromProto-Indo-European*seyk-.
sec m (feminine singularseca,masculine pluralsecs,feminine pluralsecas)
- dry
- Joan de Cantalausa (2006),Diccionari general occitan a partir dels parlars lengadocians[1], 2nd edition,→ISBN, page898
- Diccionari General de la Lenga Occitana[2], L’Academia occitana – Consistòri del Gai Saber,2008-2025, page591
sēc(Anglian)
- alternative form ofsēoc
Declension ofsēc — Strong
FromLatinsiccus.
sec m (oblique and nominative feminine singularseche)
- dry (lacking moisture)
Inherited fromLatinsiccus, fromProto-Indo-European*seyk-.
sec m orn (feminine singularseacă,pluralseci)
- dry
- barren,empty,deserted; alsodried up
- (figuratively)missing ordeficient in something,lacking; alsouseless
- (figuratively)dull,stupid,empty-headed
- (regional, Transylvania)skinny
FromLatinsiccus.
secm (feminine singularsecca,masculine pluralsecs,feminine pluralseccas)
- (Sursilvan)dry
sec
- dry (especially of white wine)
