secrete
/sɪˈkɹiːt/ adjective, verb
Also a form of secret
Forms secretes secreting secreted
- adjective (obsolete, rare) Separated; discrete.
- verb (physiology, transitive, of organs, glands, etc.) To extract a substance from blood, sap, or similar to produce and emit waste for excretion or for the fulfilling of a physiological function.
- verb (transitive, figurative) To exude or yield.
- verb (transitive) To conceal.
Synonyms
Etymology
First attested in 1678: from Latin sēcrētus (“[having been] separated”).
First directly attested in 1728; attested as the past-participial adjective secreted in 1707: from Latin sēcrētus, perfect passive participle of sēcernō (“to separate”); reinforced by back-formation from secretion; compare secern; cognate with French sécréter and the Spanish secretar.
Alteration of secret.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To deposit in a place of hiding; to hide; to conceal; as, to secrete stolen goods; to secrete one's self.
- verb To separate from the blood and elaborate by the process of secretion; to elaborate and emit as a secretion. See Secretion.
Etymology [L. secretus separated, secret, hidden, p. p. of secernere. See Secret, and cf. Discrete, Discreet.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “secrete”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details