adj.
- Of the second rank; not primary.
- Inferior.
- Minor; lesser.
- Derived from what is primary or original: a secondary source; a secondary infection.
- Of, relating to, or being the shorter flight feathers projecting along the inner edge of a bird's wing.
- Electricity. Having an induced current that is generated by an inductively coupled primary. Used of a circuit or coil.
- Chemistry. Characterized or formed by replacement of two atoms or radicals within a molecule. Used of a compound.
- Geology. Produced from another mineral by decay or alteration.
- Of or relating to a secondary school: secondary education.
- Of or relating to a secondary color or colors.
- Being a degree of health care intermediate between that offered in a physician's office and that available at a research hospital, as the care typically offered at a clinic or community hospital.
- Botany. Of, relating to, or derived from a lateral meristem, especially a cambium.
- One that acts in an auxiliary, subordinate, or inferior capacity.
- One of the shorter flight feathers projecting along the inner edge of a bird's wing.
- Electricity. A coil or circuit having an induced current.
- Astronomy. A celestial body that revolves around another; a satellite.
- The dimmer star of a binary star system.
- A secondary color.
- Football. The defensive backfield.
secondariness sec'ond·ar'i·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
