sec

English Online Dictionary. What means sec‎? What does sec mean?

Translingual

Symbol

sec

1. (trigonometry) Symbol of the trigonometric function secant.

   Coordinate terms: csc, cot, arcsec

2. (nonstandard) Symbol of second, an SI unit of measurement of time.

Usage notes

The standard symbol for "second" is s.

English

Alternative forms

• sec.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɛk/
• Rhymes: -ɛk

Noun

sec (plural sec or secs)

1. (colloquial) Second, ¹⁄₆₀ of a minute. [from 1881]
2. (colloquial) Clipping of second (“short indeterminate period of time”).

   Synonyms: jiffy, mo, tic; see also Thesaurus:moment
3. (colloquial, politics) Clipping of secretary.

Derived terms

• com sec
• just a sec

See also

Anagrams

• CES, CEs, CSE, ECS, ESC, Esc, SCE, ces, sce.

Aromanian

Etymology 1

From Latin siccus. Compare Romanian sec.

Alternative forms

• secu

Adjective

sec

1. dry
2. barren, deserted

Etymology 2

From Latin siccō. Compare Romanian seca, sec.

Alternative forms

• secu

Verb

sec first-singular present indicative (third-person singular present indicative seacã, past participle sicatã)

1. to dry, dry up
2. to exhaust, wither, drain, empty

Related terms

• sicari / sicare
• sicat
• sicãturã
• seatsitã

Catalan

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Catalan sech, from Latin siccus (“dry”), from Proto-Indo-European *seyk-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈsɛk]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˈsək]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈsek]

Adjective

sec (feminine seca, masculine plural secs, feminine plural seques)

1. dry (free from or lacking moisture)

   Synonym: eixut

2. (of wine) dry (low in sugar)
3. skinny

Related terms

Etymology 2

Deverbal from segar (“to harvest”).

Alternative forms

• séc (pre-2016 spelling)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈsek]
• Homophone: cec

Noun

sec m (plural secs)

1. fold
2. groove
3. wrinkle

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈsɛk]

Verb

sec

1. first-person singular present indicative of seure

Further reading

• “sec” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “sec”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “sec” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “sec” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Dutch

Etymology

From French sec.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɛk/

Adjective

sec (used only predicatively, not comparable)

1. (of wine) dry
2. (figuratively) simple, plain, matter-of-fact, without adornment

Usage notes

• The figurative sense is often used adverbially:

  Hij presenteerde de zaak sec en zonder emotie. ― He presented the case matter-of-factly and without emotion.

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French sec, from Latin siccus (“dry”), from Proto-Indo-European *seyk-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɛk/
• Rhymes: -ɛk

Adjective

sec (feminine sèche, masculine plural secs, feminine plural sèches)

1. dry
2. dried, having had its moisture evaporated

   des abricots secs ― dried apricots

   du poisson sec ― dried fish

3. lean, thin, skinny
4. (of alcohol) dry, unsweetened, not sweet, bitter
5. (of a person) curt

Descendants

• → Dutch: sec
• → Turkish: sek

Noun

sec m (plural secs)

1. something that is dry

Adverb

sec

1. sharply, abruptly, quickly, swiftly, briskly

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading

• “sec”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• ces

Lower Sorbian

Alternative forms

• ssez (obsolete)

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *sěťi (“to cut, chop”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɛt͡s/

Verb

sec impf (perfective pósec)

1. to mow (cut something down)

Conjugation

Derived terms

Further reading

• Muka, Arnošt (1921, 1928) “sec”, in Słownik dolnoserbskeje rěcy a jeje narěcow (in German), St. Petersburg, Prague: ОРЯС РАН, ČAVU; Reprinted Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag, 2008
• Starosta, Manfred (1999) “sec”, in Dolnoserbsko-nimski słownik / Niedersorbisch-deutsches Wörterbuch (in German), Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag

Occitan

Etymology

From Old Occitan sec, from Latin siccus (“dry”), from Proto-Indo-European *seyk-.

Pronunciation

Adjective

sec m (feminine singular seca, masculine plural secs, feminine plural secas)

1. dry

Related terms

• secar

Further reading

• Joan de Cantalausa (2006) Diccionari general occitan a partir dels parlars lengadocians‎^[1], 2 edition, →ISBN, page 898.
• Diccionari General de la Lenga Occitana, L’Academia occitana – Consistòri del Gai Saber, 2008-2024, page 591.

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /seːk/

Adjective

sēc (Anglian)

1. Alternative form of sēoc

Declension

Old French

Etymology

From Latin siccus.

Adjective

sec m (oblique and nominative feminine singular seche)

1. dry (lacking moisture)

Declension

Descendants

• French: sec
• Norman: sé
• Walloon: setch

References

• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (sec, supplement)
• sec on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub

Romanian

Etymology

Inherited from Latin siccus, from Proto-Indo-European *seyk-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sek/

Adjective

sec m or n (feminine singular seacă, plural seci)

1. dry
2. barren, empty, deserted; also dried up
3. (figuratively) missing or deficient in something, lacking; also useless
4. (figuratively) dull, stupid, empty-headed
5. (regional, Transylvania) skinny

Declension

Synonyms

• (dry): uscat
• (empty): gol, deșert
• (stupid): prost
• (skinny): slab

Related terms

• seca
• secetă

Romansch

Alternative forms

• sitg, setg (Rumantsch Grischun, Surmiran)
• schetg (Sursilvan)
• sétg (Sutsilvan)
• sech (Puter, Vallader)

Etymology

From Latin siccus.

Adjective

sec m (feminine singular secca, masculine plural secs, feminine plural seccas)

1. (Sursilvan) dry

Swedish

Adjective

sec

1. dry (especially of white wine)

References

• sec in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• sec in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)