English
secrecy
Secrecy comes from Old French secré.
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400secré
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500secretee
- Englishearliest quotation 1910secrecy
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400secré
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500secretee
- Englishearliest quotation 1910secrecy
Earliest quotation: 1910, Emerson Hough, Indianapolis: “Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging…”
Every English word from Old French secré
Today it means
noun Concealment; the condition of being secret or hidden.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old French secré / secrecy