If you guessed that the secret to the origins of secrete is the word secret, you are correct. Secrete developed in the mid-18th century as an alteration of a now obsolete verb secret. That verb had the meaning now carried by secrete and derived from the familiar noun secret ("something kept hidden or unexplained"). The noun, in turn, traces back to the Latin secretus, the past participle of the verb secernere, meaning "to separate" or "to distinguish." Incidentally, there is an earlier and distinct verb secrete with the more scientific meaning "to form and give off (a secretion)." That secrete is a back-formation from secretion, another word that can be traced back to secernere.
conceal usually does imply intent and often specifically implies a refusal to divulge.
concealed the weapon
screen implies an interposing of something that prevents discovery.
a house screened by trees
secrete suggests a depositing in a place unknown to others.
secreted the amulet inside his shirt
bury implies covering up so as to hide completely.
buried the treasure
Examples of secrete in a Sentence
Verb (2)
the police found the weapon secreted under the driver's seat of the getaway car
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Key Takeaways The gallbladder plays a role in digestion by secreting bile to help digest fats after meals.—Angela Ryan Lee, Verywell Health, 23 Sep. 2025 Sweat secreted during exercise flows along the microfluidic structures and fills each chamber in order.—Hannah Millington, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Sep. 2025 One area of focus is the clearance of senescent cells—cells that have ceased dividing but continue to secrete pro-inflammatory factors.—William A. Haseltine, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025 The long-acting amylin analogue which works by mimicking a hormone that is co-secreted with insulin in the pancreas to increase satiety.—Karen Gilchrist, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for secrete
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