† secretnessn.
Obsolete.
The state or condition of being secret.
1. Secrecy, privacy; reticence. in secretness: secretly.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > [noun]
dighelnessc1000
dernship?c1225
derna1250
concealmenta1325
hidnessc1330
hiddennessc1380
privy1384
secrenessc1386
secre1390
stillnessa1400
secretnessa1475
hodelnessec1475
scuggery?a1500
hugger-mugger1529
closeness1562
secrecy1563
privatenessa1586
covertness1592
hugger-mug1654
privacy1702
conspiracy of silence1865
hush-hush1973
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > [noun] > disposition to secrecy, secretiveness
secrecy1423
secretnessa1475
privacy1624
uncommunicativeness1751
snugness1778
secretiveness1815
cageyness1950
a1475 G. Ashby Active Policy Prince 354 Kepe secretnesse as a secretarye.
a1475 G. Ashby Active Policy Prince 621 Whan any tellethe you any tale,..than kepe it in secretnesse treuleche.
1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer i. f. cccxxx A thyng enclosed vnder secretnesse of pryuite.
a1533 Ld. Berners tr. A. de Guevara Golden Bk. M. Aurelius (1546) sig. G.j He..ought to entre into his owne secretnes, and to thynke profoundely.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cccxlii Now again muttering something in great secreatnes.
1654 A. Cokayne tr. G. F. Loredano Dianea iii. 246 Being growne impatient of my timerous secretnesse.. I asked her Advice: If it were better to discover ones flames to a Mistris by Letters, word of mouth, or by the Intercession of others.
2. That which is secret.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > [noun] > something concealed, a secret
derna1000
counsel1377
secrec1386
dernheada1400
secretnessc1425
secrecyc1450
secret1450
concealment1598
reservation1612
cabal1631
recess1646
occult1648
reserve1680
state secret1822
reserving1844
inédit1910
c1425 Bk. Found. St. Bartholomew's (1923) 13 And begane a litill while to hyde the secretnesse of his soule.
c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) xcv. 310 Whan ye were prisoner in Babylone I dyscoueryd the secretnes of my mynde to hym, and shewed hym of ye loue betwen you and me.
1623 W. Lisle Serm. Easter Day in Ælfric's Saxon Treat. 13 Then ought we..not to search rashly of that deepe secretnes aboue the measure of our vnderstanding.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online June 2019).
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n.c1425