# secondary

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈsɛkənd(ə)ɹɪ/ · frequency rank #2,861

## Definitions
1. Next in order to the first or primary; of second place in origin, rank, etc.
2. Originating from a deputy or delegated person or body.
3. Derived from a parent compound by replacement of two atoms of hydrogen by organic radicals.
4. Produced by alteration or deposition subsequent to the formation of the original rock mass.
5. Developed by pressure or other causes.
6. Pertaining to the second joint of the wing of a bird.
7. Dependent or consequent upon another disease, or occurring in the second stage of a disease.
8. Of less than primary importance.
9. Related to secondary education, i.e. schooling between the ages of (approximately) 11 and 18.
10. Relating to the manufacture of goods from raw materials.
11. Formed by mixing primary colors.
12. Representing a reversion to an ancestral state.

## Etymology
From Middle English secundarie, from Latin secundārius (“of the second class or quality”), from secundus (whence the English second) + -ārius (whence the English suffix -ary), equivalent to second + -ary; compare the French secondaire, the Italian secondario, the Occitan secundari, the Portuguese secundario, and the Spanish secundario.

## Easily confused with
- **secondly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/secondary-vs-secondly)

## Common misspellings (14)
`escondary`, `sceondary`, `seccondary`, `secnodary`, `secodnary`, `seconadry`, `secondarry`, `secondaryy`, `secondayr`, `seconddary`, `secondray`, `seconndary`, `seocndary`, `ssecondary`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/secondary