secretariat

UK/ˌsɛk.ɹəˈtɛə.ɹɪ.ət/US/ˌsɛk.ɹəˈtɛɚ.i.ət/

nounC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #14,019 of 15,258mostly written

Other forms: secretariats

A secretariat is the permanent staff running an international body. The UN secretariat.

It outlasts every government represented, which is where its real influence lies. A secretariat writes the papers that the meetings then agree to, which is more power than it sounds.

Definitions of secretariat

1nounsecretariatThe permanent staff running an international body.C1
“The secretariat employed four hundred people in three cities.”

secretariat is a staff.

Where it comes from

French
secrétariat
English, today
secretariat

Borrowed from French secrétariat.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

secretariat in the wild

The secretariat is the UN's Engine and Civil Service.
United Nations Secretariat
The secretary-general, who is appointed by the General Assembly, is the head of the secretariat.
United Nations Secretariat
Members of the secretariat (Shujichu Shuji) are considered some of the most important political positions in the CCP and contemporary China, more generally.
Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party
Each secretariat member is generally in charge of one of the major party departments directly under the jurisdiction of the Central Committee.
Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party
The respective secretariats of the Schengen Agreement and of now-defunct Western European Union and European Political Cooperation have along the years been integrated with the Council Secretariat.
General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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