secondary
sec·ond·ary [secondary secondaries] BrE [ˈsekəndri] NAmE [ˈsekənderi] adjective
1. less important than sth else
• That is just a secondary consideration.
• Experience is what matters— age is of secondary importance.
•~ to sth Raising animals was only secondary to other forms of farming.
2. happening as a result of sth else
•a secondary infection
•a secondary effect
•a secondary colour (= made from mixing two primary colours)
3. only before noun connected with teaching children of 11-18 years
•secondary teachers
•the secondary curriculum
compare ↑elementary, ↑primary, ↑tertiary
Derived Word: ↑secondarily
Word Origin:
late Middle English: from Latin secundarius ‘of the second quality or class’, from secundus ‘following, second’, from the base of sequi ‘follow’.
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