security

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

English

Alternative forms

• secuerity (obsolete)

Etymology

From secure +‎ -ity, from Middle English securite, from Middle French securité (modern sécurité), from Latin sēcūritās, from Latin sēcūrus (“safe, secure”), from sē- (“without”) +‎ cūra (“care”); see cure. Similar to Latin sine cūrā (“without care, carefree”), which led to English sinecure. Doublet of surety.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /sɪˈkjʊəɹəti/, /sɪˈkjɔːɹəti/
• (US) IPA^(key): /səˈkjɔɹ.ɪˌti/, [səˈkjɔɹ.ɪˌɾi], /səˈkjʊɹ.ɪˌti/, [səˈkjʊɹ.ɪˌɾi]
• Hyphenation: se‧cu‧rit‧y

Noun

security (countable and uncountable, plural securities)

1. (uncountable) The condition of not being threatened, especially physically, psychologically, emotionally, or financially.
2. (countable) Something that secures.
3. An organization or department responsible for providing security by enforcing laws, rules, and regulations as well as maintaining order.
4. (law) Something that secures the fulfillment of an obligation or law.
5. (law) Freedom from apprehension.
7. (finance, often in the plural) A tradeable financial asset, such as a share of stock.^W
8. (finance) Proof of ownership of stocks, bonds or other investment instruments.
9. (finance) Property etc. temporarily relinquished to guarantee repayment of a loan.
10. A guarantee.
11. (obsolete) Carelessness; negligence.

Synonyms

• (condition of not being threatened): safety
• (something that secures): protection
• (something that secures the fulfillment of an obligation): guarantee, surety
• See also Thesaurus:security

Antonyms

• insecurity (condition of being threatened)

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Cantonese: 實Q／实Q (sat⁶ kiu¹), 石Q (sek⁶ kiu¹), 食Q, 食蕉 (sik⁶ ziu¹)
• → Indonesian: sekuriti
• → Indonesian: sekuritas (semantic loan)
• → Japanese: セキュリティ (sekyuriti)

Translations

References

• “security”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• security in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
• “security”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• security on Wikipedia.Wikipedia