▪ I. ‖ secreta1 Eccl.
(sɪˈkriːtə)
Pl. secretæ.
[eccl.L. sēcrēta (sc. ōrātio), fem. of L. sēcrētus secret a.]
= secret n. 2.
| 1753 Challoner Cath. Chr. Instr. 95 The Prayers called the Secreta, which correspond to the Collects of the Day, and are different every Day. 1859 Neale Liturgies S. Mark, etc. p. xxvi note, While the secreta is being said. 1899 Lutheran (Philad.) 6 Apr. 325 The prolonged secretae of the priests. |
▪ II. ‖ seˈcreta, n.2 pl.
[Lat.; neut. pl. of pa. pple. of sēcernĕre: see secern, secrete.]
Secreted matters; the products of secretion. Cf. excreta.
| 1877 Chambers in Encycl. Brit. VII. 209/2 The actual amount of those elements in the dried solids of the secreta. |