Secretary General
92
3.9
- noun
- /ˈsɛkrəˌtɛri ˈdʒɛnərəl/
- Formal
:
secretario general
- The U.S. Secretary General hopes to achieve a successful negotiation...
- UN Secretary-General
- United Nations Secretary-General
- former Secretary-General
Now, you've probably heard the UN Secretary General's job called the world's chief diplomat.
- Now, you've probably heard the UN Secretary General's job called the world's chief diplomat.
- And she was an appointee of the secretary general of the United Nations, Antonio Gutierrez.
- What else is wrong in the, you know, the the UN secretary general's announcement of a code red for humanity?
Examples
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In his speech, the Secretary General of the United Nations emphasized the importance of global cooperation.
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This is why, as UN Secretary General, I take every opportunity to push leaders to listen and to act.
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I am committed to a broad dialogue between the member states and the Secretary General.
Academic text (1992) -
Israel will not receive the delegation of the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Academic text (1991) -
Annan served his two terms as Secretary General, completing his service on Dec. 31, 2006.
Blog text (19) -
You have a monumental crisis emerging, Mr. Secretary-General.
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On 11 February 1993, members of the Journal editorial board interviewed the Secretary-General at U.N. headquarters in New York.
Academic text (1993) -
Now, you've probably heard the UN Secretary General's job called the world's chief diplomat.
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On December 5, 1998, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan met with Qaddafi while traveling through the Arab world.
Academic text (1999) -
As the Secretary General, she plays a crucial role in mediating international conflicts.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is compositionally transparent: 'secretary' (an administrative officer) combined with 'general' (meaning overall/chief) yields the idea of the principal or chief secretary of an organization. This formation is a direct calque in many languages (e.g. Secretario General, Secrétaire général) and follows predictable role+modifier patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will generally infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
Secretary General comes from two words: secretary and general. A secretary was a person who kept important papers and private messages, and general meant 'for the whole group' or 'overall'. So imagine one person who keeps the records and looks after everyone's business, which is why a Secretary General is the main or 'chief' officer of an international organization.