■ adjective not known or seen or not meant to be known or seen by others.
↘fond of having or keeping ~s; ~ive.
■ noun
1》 something kept or meant to be kept ~.
↘something not properly understood; a mystery: the ~s of the universe.
2》 a way of achieving something, especially one that is not commonly known: the ~ of a happy marriage is compromise.
3》 a prayer said quietly by the priest after the offertory in a Roman Catholic Mass.
Derivatives
secrecy noun
~ly adverb
Origin
ME: from OFr., from L. ~us 'separate, set apart', from secernere , from se- 'apart' + cernere 'sift'.