Origin of a Secretary

The secretary isn't a new concept; it's been around for a few hundred years. The name itself comes from a Latin word secernere which means to distinguish or set apart, but the word eventually had the notion of confidential or secret. The English word secret is derived from this and (more specifically) the Latin word secretum which is the passive participle of secernere. Originally, a person whose title was "secretarius" was someone who worked for someone of great importance (like a king) and who was incharge of confidential information.

Until the 1800's, the secretary was a male who dealt with specifically correspondence and secret matters. During that time, the secretary job began to be split into more specific avenues with specific responsibilities (such as business secretary or financial secretary). One example of this still exists in the Cabinet members for the President (Secretary of State, Treasury Secretary, etc.) The term secretary was soon used by itself in only two cases: as a title for someone (such as Secretary James Arthur) or when the job was a modest position like the personal assistant to who's in charge. These jobs began to have less and less authority and as such, more women were introduced into them, and the result was the creation of terms like administrative assistant.

Until recently, shorthand was a necessity for a secretary to learn. In 1870, Sir Isaac Pitman founded a school to be trained in shorthand, but it was only offered for men to join. When the typewriter was invented in the 1880's, more women joined the workforce as secretaries. World War I was the turnaround for women in the industry. Many men went off to war, leaving vacant jobs which women filled eagerly. It was at this time that the shift from men to women happened. By the 1930's, there were few men secretaries.

Today the term secretary has almost become abandoned in some parts of the country. Some even say that it is demeaning to women and it promotes a negative stereotype. The popularity of other names like administrative assistant have been steadily on the rise. However, historically, the term secretary was reserved for someone with a powerful position for a powerful person. It's power has diminished greatly, even though it is still an important position for business, both public and private.

Bet you didn't know that!