social secretary
3
5.2
- noun
- /ˈsoʊʃəl ˈsɛkrəˌtɛri/
:
secretario social
- The social secretary organized a charity event that brought together influential community leaders.
- a former social secretary
- social secretary's office
Examples
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I called my social secretary to arrange a meeting with the new clients.
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What do you think a social secretary does for a living?
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I'll have to check with my social secretary.
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I'm his social secretary now.
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Why don't you call my social secretary?
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Oliver, this is Cuddles, my social secretary.
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I can't tell you how thrilled I am to be your social secretary.
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Also influential, some local lawyers believe, was Handy's friend Lindner, whose mother was social secretary to the governor.
Academic text (1993) -
Major Derval's social secretary.
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As her social secretary, he managed all of her appointments and correspondence.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'social' (relating to social activities/relations) modifies 'secretary' (a person who manages correspondence/appointments), so the phrase denotes a secretary who handles social events and correspondence. This adjective+noun pattern is a productive, cross-linguistically common construction, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Social secretary comes from putting together social (meaning parties, invitations and visits) and secretary (a helper who writes letters and keeps lists). So a social secretary is the person who looks after someone's invitations and plans, which is why it means 'managing someone's social correspondence and appointments'.