Secrecie

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The condition of keeping something hidden, unknown, or withheld from others
2. The quality of concealing information or plans so that only chosen people know them
3. Concealment of facts, intentions, or activities from people who are not meant to learn of them

Etymology: Secrecy grows from a Latin idea of physical separation. The Latin verb "cernere" meant to sift, as grain is sifted from chaff, and adding the prefix "se-" ("apart") produced "secernere," meaning to set aside or keep apart. Its past participle "secretus" described things kept apart from view, and this passed through Old French into English as "secret." English later added the suffix "-cy" to form the noun. The Middle English spelling "secrecie" shows the ending still settling. The "-ie" was later replaced by the modern "-y," but the root has barely changed. The same Latin verb lies behind "discern," which originally meant to tell apart, and "certain," which once meant settled or decided, as if sifted out from doubt.