secretarius

Secretarius is a Latin noun meaning "secretary" or "keeper of confidences." The term derives from secretus, meaning hidden or secret, with the agentive suffix -arius, indicating a person who handles secrets or confidential work.

In classical and late antique Latin, secretarius referred to a person charged with managing private letters and official correspondence for a magistrate or official. In the medieval and early modern periods, the term was used for officials who performed similar duties for rulers, bishops, or other high-ranking persons, often functioning as private secretaries, scribes, or clerks within chancery offices.

In modern scholarship, the word appears primarily in historical or textual discussions. The Latin form is typically encountered in archival documents, scholarly editions, or liturgical and ecclesiastical writings. Derivatives of the same root have become common in modern languages, producing terms such as secretary in English, secretario or segretario in Romance languages, and secrétaire in French.

Usage today is largely restricted to historical contexts when rendered in Latin; outside scholarly work, the ordinary sense of "secretary" is usually expressed in the local language. In literature and fantasy, "secretarius" may be employed as a formal or archaic title for a character who handles confidential correspondence or acts as a chief aide to a ruler or organization.