means A person employed to handle correspondence, records, and administrative tasks for another, or an official who heads a government department or organization.

from From Latin 'secretarius,' meaning one entrusted with secrets — built on 'secretum' (a secret thing), itself from 'secernere,' 'to set apart' (se- 'apart' + cernere 'to sift, separate'). The original secretary wasn't a typist but a confidant: the one person permitted to know what was kept hidden. The word arrived in English in the late Middle Ages still wearing that aura of privileged knowledge, which is why nations still call their top ministers Secretaries of State.