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Glite Dictionary
Secretary of Veterans Affairs

Secretary of Veterans Affairs

1 4.9
The person who leads the United States government department that helps people who used to be in the military
  • noun
  • Formal
translation icon : Secretario de Asuntos de Veteranos
  • HR 3685 -- To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to include on the main page of the Internet website of the Department of Veterans Affairs a hyperlink to the VetSuccess Internet website and to publicize such Internet website.
  • U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs
  • new Secretary of Veterans Affairs

Examples

  • The Senate is expected to confirm Pentagon official Robert Wilkie as the new Secretary of Veterans Affairs today.

  • HR 1172: To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to include on the Internet website of the Department of Veterans Affairs a list of organizations that provide scholarships to veterans and their survivors.

    Blog text (23)

  • "As we drive toward our goal to end homelessness among veterans in 2015, VA continues to find innovative ways to permanently house veterans who were formerly homeless," Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki stated in a press release.

    Blog text (16)

  • David Shulkin was sworn in today as the new Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

  • The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Edward Derwinski, said that was sufficient to offer compensation to victims.

Surface Forms

Secretary of Veterans Affairs singular

Morphology

secretary + of + veteran + affairs

The meaning 'head of the Department of Veterans Affairs' is compositionally built from 'secretary' (a senior official) + 'veterans' (people who served in the military) + 'affairs' (matters concerning), following a standard 'X of Y' government-title pattern. This is a common, transparent noun phrase construction in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily infer the role.

Etymology

Secretary of Veterans Affairs comes from the way a government names the leader of a department that cares for military veterans: Secretary means the top official and Veterans Affairs means the work for veterans. So, the title means the 'head' who is 'in charge of' veterans' programs and services.