Did you know?
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.
Examples of secrete in a Sentence
Wesley Bruer, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2025
Some plants secrete a sweet substance from nectaries, or nectar glands.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 7 Sep. 2025
Now, scientists are unraveling a dramatic story secreted away in rare, roughly 800 million-year-old volcanic rocks called carbonatites.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 3 Sep. 2025
Xu strives to minimize harm, noting that stressed moon jellies may secrete extra mucus or stop reproducing.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for secrete
Cite this Entry
“Secrete.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/secrete. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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