Secretary of Agriculture
5
4.4
- noun
- Formal
:
Secretario de Agricultura
- The Secretary of Agriculture announced new policies to support local farmers.
- Secretary of Agriculture Henry Wallace
Examples
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Wallace's grandson Henry A. Wallace, who became Secretary of Agriculture himself under President Roosevelt (1932-1940), was also involved with BARC.
Academic text (2001) -
Once the quota was determined by the Secretary of Agriculture, those individuals subject to the quota had the option to vote against it.
Blog text (21) -
Ladies and gentlemen, the Secretary of Agriculture.
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I name the Secretary of Agriculture.
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The team recently received top honors from the Secretary of Agriculture.
Academic text (1996) -
The Secretary of Agriculture determined the quota at the beginning of the year.
Blog text (21) -
You have the Secretary of Agriculture saying, "I do not care what the panel says, we are going to impose quotas."
Academic text (1994) -
The report is the first of its kind to focus solely on organic production, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey noted.
Blog text (12) -
While Secretary of Agriculture from 1932 to 1940, Henry A. Wallace oversaw major expansion of BARC.
Academic text (2001) -
In one such measure, the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area Act, Congress authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to acquire private land to protect a threatened scenic area.
Academic text (1990)
Synonyms
411
4.1
A senior government official who leads a major department
4
3.9
A government minister who leads the department that makes farming policy
Surface Forms
Morphology
secretary + of + agriculture
The meaning is directly compositional: 'secretary' (a senior official) combined with 'agriculture' (farming) and the linking preposition 'of' clearly signals the official in charge of agricultural matters. This is a standard department-head construction found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
Secretary of Agriculture comes from old uses of Secretary for someone who kept important papers and helped leaders, and Agriculture simply means 'farming'. Picture someone holding the country's farming plans like papers in a drawer; that's why the title now means the top government official who looks after rules and support for farmers.